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111.,-    SIBLEY. 


ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D. 


EX-MEMBER    OP    U.    S.    CONGRESS;     MEMBER    OF    THE    AMERICAN 

GEOGRAPHICAL     SOCIETY  ;       FIRST     DELEGATE     FROM 

THE  TERRITORY,   AND   FIRST   GOVERNOR    OF 

THE  STATE,    OF  MINNESOTA. 

BREVET  MAJOR  GENERAL,    U.  S.  V.;    COMMANDER  OF  THE  LOYAL  LEGION 

OF    MINNESOTA  ;      PRESIDENT   OF    BOARD    OF    REGENTS   OF    THE 

STATE     UNIVERSITY,     OF     THE     STATE     HISTORICAL 

SOCIETY,     OF    THE    STATE    NORMAL 

SCHOOL    BOARD, 

ETC. 


Non  omnis  moriar. 


NATHANIEL  AVEST,  D.D. 


Pioneer  Press  Publishing  Company, 
Saint  Paul,  Minnesota. 

1889. 


Copyright,  18S9,  by  Henry  Hastings  Sibley. 


PREFACE. 


I  PUEPOSE  to  write,  in  outline,  the  Ancedry,  Life,  and  Times  of  Henry 
Hastings  Sibley,  the  historic  starting  point  of  whose  j)edigree  is  first 
descried  in  the  gray  foretime,  near  the  Plantagenets,  and  not  remote 
from  Norman  conquest,  when  Saxons  fought  against  their  proud  invaders. 
Briefly,  I  desire  to  indicate  historic  names  in  the  line  descending  thence, 
conspicuous  through  the  scenes  of  English  history,  down  to  the  times 
of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  and  days  of  Cromwell,  the  times  of  Carver, 
Standish,  and  of  Endicott's  and  Winthrop's  fleets,  when,  as  part  of  a 
vast  immigration,  the  Sibleys  crossed  the  seas,  while  "Westward  the 
course  of  empire  took  its  way;"  a  line  thence  lengthening  and  widening 
through  the  mazes  of  American  colonial  and  revolutionary  strife;  crossing 
the  epoch  of  the  Great  Ordinance  of  1787,  continuing  to  the  War  of  1812, 
when  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  a  babe  a  year  old,  and  a  prisoner 
of  war  in  British  hands;  thence,  hitherward,  spreading  through  the  settle- 
ment of  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  particularly  of  Minnesota,  before 
it  had  a  state  or  territorial  name,  and  advancing  to  the  period  of  the 
present  writing.  It  is  a  long  and  sometimes  tortuous  road  to  travel,  and 
much  of  our  march  must  imitate  the  steps  of  Homer's  gods  in  space. 

The  task,  not  less  pleasing  than  severe,  recites  the  story  of  one 
whose  fortunes  were  not  only  unsunderable  from  the  birth  and  history  of 
Minnesota,  but  are  so  interwoven  with  the  fortunes  of  the  whole  North- 
west, that  the  dimensions  of  a  single  volume  are  insuflicient  to  compass 
the  wealth  of  material  by  which  the  treatment  of  the  theme  is  embar- 
rassed. The  fabled  Atlas,  with  the  globe  on  his  shoulders,  illustrates,  in 
measure,  the  relation  to  the  State  of  Minnesota  of  one  who,  with  universal 
consent,  repeated  public  expression,  and  on  anniversary  occasions,  has 
been  by  his  contemporaries  accorded  the  rank  of  ^^ First  Citizen  of  Minne- 
sota,^ ^  and  to  whose  health  the  magnates  of  the  state,  met  in  semi- 
centenary  banquet,  responded,  rising  to  their  feet  in  honor  of  their 
guest,  and  applauding  the  toast  '  'Long  Live  the  King! ' '  This  meed  of 
meritorious  praise — not  a  vain  flattery — precludes  the  possibility  of 
exaggeration  on  the  part  of  a  historian,  and  binds  him  to  respect 
the  public  judgment.  Sprung  from  a  line  of  ancestors  renowned  in  the 
annals  of  their  country,  in  both  hemispheres,  stretching  backward  through 


six  centuries  and  twenty  generations,  and  many  of  whose  noblest 
qualities  are  illustrated  in  the  life  of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley,  Minnesota 
possesses,  as  her  own,  a  man  whose  memory  she  will  covet  to  keep  as 
long  as  the  "North  Star  State"  shines  in  the  constellation  of  states  that 
form  the  great  American  Union.  It  is  not  that  many  brave  men,  and 
noble,  have  not  preceded  Agamemnon,  nor  that  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
lacked  contemporaries  of  distinguished  name,  men  of  literary,  civil,  mili- 
tary, and  social  mark,  deserving  well  of  the  state,  as  also  of  the  nation, 
but  it  is  that  Agamemnon  himself  was  great. 

In  the  study  of  my  task  I  have  not  only  applied  myself  to  the  most 
authoritative  published  historical  and  genealogical  sources  of  information, 
but  also,  with  interest,  to  unpublished  manuscripts  and  notes,  corre- 
spondence, diaries,  and  various  papers  of  unusual  value  relating  to  my 
theme,  so  that,  notwithstanding  the  many  sketches,  histories,  and  volumes, 
already  extant,  the  reader  will  here  be  treated  to  some  draughts  undrawn 
before,  and  find  new  flowers  not  hitherto  set  on  the  board. 

Jurat  iniegros  accedere  fontes,  atque  haurire;  juvatque  novos  decerpere  flares. 

I  write,  therefore,  from  sources  individual  and  official,  personal  and 
public,  state  and  national,  American  and  European,  concerning  one  who, 
in  his  youth,  was  of  adventurous  disposition,  marvelous  in  his  many- 
sided  life,  of  great  capabilities,  commanding  intellect,  high  moral  tone, 
intense  susceptibility  to  the  beautiful,  religiously  disposed,  and  of  deter- 
mined will  and  purpose;  a  man  whose  history  far  transcends  the  role  of 
-^neas  whom  Virgil  sang,  and  who,  were  a  Homer  now  living,  would 
be  made  the  subject  of  his  muse;  a  man  of  virtues  such  as  Tacitus 
has  told  of  Agricola;  of  physical  stature  Ajax-like  in  his  manhood,  full 
of  symmetry,  and  courtly  in  his  manners;  a  man  of  fine  accom- 
plishment, integrity  unwavering,  ideals  ennobling,  endurances  wellnigh 
incredible,  and  of  whom,  one  of  the  most  gifted  governors  of  the 
state  ha.s  testified  that  "he  bore  in  his  breast,  to  this  distant  region,  the 
seeds  of  an  advancing  and  all-comprehending  civilization,"  planting  the 
same  in  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  making  its  "solitary  places  glad," 
and  its  "wilderness  to  blossom  as  the  rose."^  A  frontiersman  and  van- 
courier  by  hereditary  right,  and  with  lineal  prestige  superior  to  a  hun- 
dred robber-kings,  romantic,  chivalrous,  and  self-reliant,  instinct  with 
exploit  and  enterprise,  he  could  have  been  no  other  than  his  history  has 
unfolded  him.  The  prearranged  conditions  of  his  birth  foredestined  hira 
to  be  a  "  Prince  of  Pioneern.''^  The  stature  of  his  thought,  the  persistence- 
of   his    will,    the    kiiu'iicss    of   his    heart,    his    self-conscious    elevation, 

1  Wonln  of  (jovernor  Davis. 


PREFACE.  Y 

modest  as  obliging,  and  condescending  as  dignified,  were  among  the 
noblest  products  of  Nature,  in  his  constitution.  The  arching  canopy  of 
heaven,  the  heaving  waters  of  the  lakes.  Nature's  vast  solitudes,  and  the 
great  prairies  of  the  West,  were  types,  to  him,  of  the  Infinite  and  Ever- 
present  One,  and  their  silent  magic  left  upon  him  their  undying  impress. 
Narrow,  bigoted,  unjust,  unbenevolent,  irreligious,  ignoble,  degraded, 
untruthful,  unsympathetic,  he  could  never  be. 

His  primacy  is  conceded.  In  his  youth  he  was  superlative  among 
the  many  Nimrods  around  him,  "a  mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord,"  a 
"splendid  shot,"  not  surpassed  by  the  Indian;  a  sportsman  by  birth, 
loading  the  shoulders  of  his  fleet  barb  with  the  game  that  skimmed  the 
sky,  and  chasing,  with  delight,  not  only  through  the  air,  but  through 
lines  of  living  prairie  fire,  the  buffalo  and  elk,  the  panther  and  the  deer, 
and  camping  at  night,  unmolested,  where  the  red  man  roamed.  He  was 
the  first  judicial  ofiicer,  and  sole  lawgiver  over  a  domain  extensive  as 
the  Empire  of  France,  and  where,  to-day, — a  half  century  gone  by, — stand 
the  four  gi-eat  states  of  Iowa,  Minnesota,  and  the  two  Dakotas,  thronged 
with  millions  of  an  industrious  population,  cultured  and  rich,  shielded 
by  laws  their  wisdom  has  framed,  and  crowned  with  institutions  their 
liberality  has  reared.  Their  sky-pointing  spires  rise  everywhere,  and 
glitter  heavenward,  in  the  glancing  sunlight,  where  once  the  smoke  of  the 
wigwam  curled,  and  the  savage  war-whoop  was  the  only  Sal)bath  bell. 
He  was  the  first  in  a  tenderer  jurisdiction,  the  captured  conqueror  of 
one  whose  personal  attractions  were,  to  him,  a  net  of  the  sweetest  entangle- 
ment, and  a  wound  whose  pain  was  his  pleasure.  He  was  first  as  fore- 
man of  the  first  grand  jury  ever  impaneled  west  of  the  Mississippi,  in 
what  is  now  known  as  Minnesota,  interpreting  to  a  French  jury  the  charge 
of  a  Saxon  judge.  He  was  the  first  delegate  from  Wisconsin  Territory, 
after  Wisconsin  was  admitted  as  a  state  with  diminished  boundaries, 
gaining  by  dint  of  sheer  superiority  his  seat  in  Congress,  and,  after 
powerful  opposition,  securing  the  passage  of  a  bill  organizing  the  Terri- 
tory of  Minnesota.  He  was  the  first  delegate  from  the  Territory  ot 
Minnesota  thus  organized,  and  re-elected  by  the  overwhelming  voice  ot 
the  people.  He  was  first  as  president  of  the  Democratic  branch  of  the 
convention  met  in  troublous  times  to  form  the  state  constitution,  its 
guiding  genius  and  its  counselor.  He  was  first  as  the  first  governor  ot 
the  State  of  Minnesota  he  had  done  so  much  to  found;  the  stalwart 
champion  of  her  honor  and  credit  during  the  long  struggle  in  which 
both  were  sought  by  reckless  politicians  to  be  destroyed.  He  was 
first  as  a  state  military  ofiicer,  appointed  by  the  governor,  with  the 
powers  of  a  general  commanding  the  state  troops,  in  the  fateful  hour  of 


VI  PEEFACE. 

the  Sioux  massacre  of  1862,  when  the  blood  of  nearly  a  thousand  lives 
cried  for  vengeance,  and  the  homes  of  Minnesota's  first  settlers  lay 
smouldering  in  their  fires.  He  was  the  first  from  the  state  as  a  general 
in  the  army,  appointed  by  the  president,  to  command  the  whole  mili- 
tary district  of  Minnesota  during  the  Civil  War.  He  was  first  in  the 
second  joint  military  exi)edition  against  the  Indians  in  1862-3,  victorious 
in  three  successive  battles,  driving  them  across  the  Missouri  river.  He 
was  first  upon  the  board  of  Indian  commissioners  to  negotiate  treaties 
with  the  hostile  Sioux  and  other  bands  still  threatening  the  upper  banks 
of  that  waterway.  He  was  the  first  military  officer  of  the  state  brev- 
etted  as  major  general  in  the  army  of  the  United  States  Volunteers  for 
gallant  and  meritorious  service  in  the  field.  And  as  if  Minnesotians 
could  heap  no  honors  too  profusely  on  him,  he  has  been  for  years  eminent 
among  the  regents  of  the  State  University,  adorning  the  chair  of  the 
president  of  the  board,  president  also  of  the  State  Normal  School  Board,  and 
of  the  State  Historical  Society;  also  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  of  the 
Cemetery  Association,  of  the  Gas  Company,  of  St.  Paul;  commander  of 
the  Loyal  Legion,  and  standing  at  the  head  of  various  institutions  and 
charities  besides.  If  recurring  primacies  and  responsible  positions  and 
honors  multiplied;  if  the  consentient  suffrages  of  popular  esteem,  public 
confidence  and  admiration,  affection  and  respect;  if  a  life  devoted  to  the 
interests  of  the  state  and  the  welfare  of  his  fellow  men  are  a  passport 
to  the  gratitude  of  any  people,  then,  with  others  worthy  of  reward,  so 
much  of  the  character  and  deeds  of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  will  secure 
for  him,  while  life  still  lingers,  a  constant  and  enduring  regard,  and,  when 
life  is  ended,  a  monument  to  perpetuate  the  name  and  the  figure  of  one  of 
whom  both  state  and  nation  have  just  cause  to  be  proud. 

To  secure  the  utmost  accuracy,  the  foUovdng  narrative,  so  far  as  relates 
to  events  under  his  immediate  observation,  has  been  submitted  to  the  criti- 
cism of  Mr.  Sibley  himself  The  statements  made  can  be  relied  upon  as 
historically  just.  Authentic  documents  vouch  for  the  rest.  For  whatever 
commendation  of  the  deeds,  person,  or  character  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  may  be  found  in  the  course  of  these  pages,  the  writer  is  alone 
responsible,  heedless  of  many  a  protest  forbidding  the  same,  and  purposed 
to  express  what  justice  and  truth  recjuired  at  his  hands. 

NATHANIEL  WEST. 


TABLE  OF  GENERAL  CONTENTS. 


The  specialized  summary  of  contents  is  placed  over  the  head  of  each  chapter,  for 
the  greater  convenience  of  the  reader.  The  index,  at  the  close  of  the  volume,  gives 
a  particular  paged  reference  to  each  of  the  subjects,  persons,  events,  and  items  of 
the  book.  The  jyresent  table  of  general  contents  simply  indicates,  in  the  most  gen- 
eral way,  the  main  scope  and  character  of  the  chapters. 


CHAPTER   I. 


Page. 


Ancestral  lines,  English  and  American,  of  the  Sibley  family;  ar- 
morial bearings;  religious,  civil,  social,  political,  and  military, 
status  in  history;  their  immigration  to  the  New  World;  biographi- 
cal sketches  of  some  of  the  more  prominent  in  American  annals; 
incidents  and  events  connected  with  their  career;  a  general  his- 
toric view  ranging  backward,  from  1629,  the  time  of  the  landing 
of  "  Winthrop's  Fleet,"  to  near  the  Norman  Conquest,  and  for- 
ward, from  1629  to  1811,  the  birth-year  of  Henry  Hastings  Sib- 
ley        1-45 

CHAPTER  II. 

Period  of  the  boyhood,  early  manhood,  Indian  and  pre-territorial, 
life  of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley;  or  from  1811  to  1828,  the  year  he 
left  his  paternal  home  for  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie;  from  1828  to 
1834,  the  year  his  feet  first  touched  Mendota;  from  1834  to  1843, 
the  year  of  his  marriage;  from  1843  to  1848,  the  year  of  his  en- 
trance into  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  as  delegate  from 
the  residuary  portion  of  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin 46-93 

CHAPTER  III. 

Period  of  the  congressional  career  of  Hon.  Henry  Hastings  Sibley; 
first  as  a  delegate  from  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin,  1848-9;  pre- 
ceded by  a  statement  of  the  influence  of  the  United  States  upon 
European  institutions  at  that  time;  also  a  statement  of  the  great 
outstanding  questions  affecting  the  fortunesjof  the  whole  country 
when  Mr.  Sibley  began  his  political  life;  and  an  account  of  his 
successful  struggle  to  secure  his  seat  in  Congress,  and  the  recog- 
nition of  the  rights  of  his  constituents.  Thirtieth  Congress, 
opening  of  second  session,  December  3,  1848 94-103-115 


YUl  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Page, 
Period  of  the  congressional  career  of  Hon.  Henry  Hastings  Sibley, 
as  delegate  from  Wisconsin  Territory,  continued;  including  the 
history  of  the  acquisition  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  of  the 
Louisiana  purchase;  the  organization  of  various  special  terri- 
tories, and  particularly  of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  sprung 
from  a  "double  mother,"  and  under  eightfold  successive  juris- 
dictions; the  intense  political  agitation  of  the  country;  the  vio- 
lence of  sectional  strife;  the  great  yet  successful  struggle  to  secure 
the  passage  of  the  bill  establishing  Minnesota  Territory;  and  the 
important  results  flowing  therefrom.  Thirtieth  Congress,  second 
session,  from  December  3,  1848,  to  March  3,  1849 116-135 

CHAPTER  V. 

Period  of  the  congressional  career  of  Hon.  Henry  Hastings  Sibley, 
continued,  but  now  as  delegate  from  the  Territory  of  Minnesota; 
the  increasing  political  agitation  of  the  entire  country  threatening 
the  disruption  of  the  Union,  and  establishment  of  dual  and  hos- 
tile governments;  exciting  scenes  in  Congress;  the  arduous  labor 
and  unremitting  devotion  of  Mr.  Sibley  to  the  interests  of  his 
constituents;  his  fearless  and  eloquent  arraignment  of  the  Indian 
policy  of  the  United  States;  defense  of  the  red  man;  assertion  ot 
the  claims  of  the  pioneer;  and  vindication  of  the  rights  of  the 
Territory  of  Minnesota.  Thirty-first  Congress,  first  session,  from 
December  3,  1849,  to  September  30,  1850;  second  session,  from 
December  2,  1850,  to  March  3,  1851 136-158-173 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Period  of  the  congressional  career  of  Hon.  Henry  Hastings  Sibley, 
continued;  polar  antagonism  between  North  and  South;  politi- 
cal parties  breaking  up;  assertion  of  moral  principles  in  state  and 
national  politics;  difficult  and  embarrasing  position  of  Mr.  Sib- 
ley; his  unswerving  unpartisan  attention  to  the  affairs  and  inter- 
ests ol'  Minnesota;  his  conflicts  and  struggles  in  the  house;  his 
victories;  his  great  service  in  securing  territorial  appropriations 
and  legislation  for  the  benefit  of  Minnesota;  his  final  appeals  in 
behalf  of  railroad  communications,  connecting  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
with  the  I'.ritisli  line.  North,  and  Lake  Superior  witli  the  Missis- 
sippi river.  Thirty-second  Congress,  first  session,  from  Decem- 
ber 1,  1851,  to  August  31,  1852;  second  session,  from  December 
6,  1852,  to  March  3,  1853 174-200-209 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Post-congressional  career  of  Hon.  Henry  Hastings  Sibley,  or  period 
of  his  public  service  in  the  legislature  of  the  Territory  of  Minne- 
sota; his  exposure  and  defeat  of  public  fraud  and  corruption;  his 


CONTENTS.  ix 

Page. 
memorial  to  Congress  unveiling  the  crimes  of  the  Minnesota 
&  Northwestern  Railroad  Company,  and  the  fraud  of  the  ter- 
ritorial legislature  upon  the  substance  and  rights  of  the  people; 
his  position  in  the  formation  of  the  Constitution  of  the  State  of 
Minnesota;  his  administration  as  the  first  governor  of  the  state; 
his  resistance  to  the  "Five  Million  Loan,"  and  his  manly  strug- 
gle to  maintain  the  credit  and  honor  of  the  state;  the  phenome- 
nal condition  of  the  world  in  1860-62.  Mr.  Sibley  in  the  cele- 
brated Charleston  Convention,  South  Carolina,  1860 210-240-246 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Post-gubernatorial  life  of  ex-Governor  Sibley.  Period  of  his  first 
military  campaign  against  the  insurgent  Sioux  Indians;  the  great 
massacre  of  1862;  commissioned  August  19,  1862,  by  Governor 
Ramsey,  as  colonel  commanding  the  expedition  against  the  Sioux, 
with  full  powers  of  a  general  officer;  pursuit  of  the  Indians;  battles 
of  Birch  Coolie  and  Wood  Lake;  defeat  of  Little  Crow  and  re- 
lease of  the  captives;  trial  and  condemnation  of  the  criminal 
Sioux  by  military  commission;  simultaneous  execution  of  thirty- 
eight;  the  results  of  the  expedition;  promoted  to  rank  of  briga- 
dier general,  September  29,  1862.  Observations  by  the  writer, 
upon  our  culture,  humanity,  and  civilization.  Action  of  the 
legislature  of  Minnesota,  and  the  business  men  of  St.  Paul,  in 
reference  to  General  Sibley.  First  military  campaign,  and  results; 
from  August  19,  1862,  to  September  23,  1862,  to  March  23,  1863. 

247-277-301 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Period  of  the  second  military  campaign  of  General  Sibley  against 
the  Sioux  Indians;  organizes  the  expedition  and  advances 
from  Camp  Pope,  June  16,  1863;  pursuit  of  the  retreating  foe; 
forced  marches  from  Fort  Atchison,  July  20,  1863;  the  battles 
of  Big  Mound,  Dead  Buffalo  Lake,  and  Stony  Lake;  10,000 
Indians  driven  across  the  Missouri  river;  the  important  results 
of  the  campaign;  order  issued  for  the  homeward  march;  deep 
personal  bereavement  of  General  Sibley.  Observations  by  the 
writer  upon  the  "Indian  Problem;"  fate  of  Little  Crow;  second 
military  campaign,  and  results;  from  June  16,  1863,  to  July  31, 
1863,  to  September  13,  1863 302-317-333 

CHAPTER  X. 

Post-military  career  of  General  Sibley;  promoted,  by  brevet,  to  the 
rank  of  brevet  major  general,  United  States  Volunteers;  delayed 
commission  received  April  30,  1866;  recalled  to  national  service 
after  being  honorably  mustered  out;  occupied  in  negotiating  trea- 
ties with  the  Indians;  multiplied  offices,  and  responsibilities 
pressed  upon  him;  reopening  of  the  question  of  the  Minnesota 


X  CONTENTS. 

Page. 
state  railroad  bonds;  General  Sibley's  election  to  the  state  legis- 
lature, and  his  triumphant  vindication  of  his  administration  as 
first  governor  of  the  state;  his  elevation  to  many  dignities;  his 
last  years  crowned  with  military,  civic,  literary,  and  academic, 
honors,  1864-1870-1889.     Observations  of  the  writer  upon  state 

morality;  public  expression  in  regard  to  General  Sibley 

334-345-355-364-38 

CHAPTEK  XI. 

Eesum^  of  the  career  of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley;  special  description 
of  his  various  characteristics;  as  a  man;  a  statesman;  a  public 
speaker;  a  debater;  his  moral  attributes;  religious  element;  his 
literary  merit;  love  of  humor;  love  of  nature;  humanity,  and  be- 
nevolence. Home,  family,  and  connections,  of  General  Sibley. 
Observations  upon  his  wonderful  career.  The  indebtedness  of 
Minnesota  to  him  as  the  foundation  of  her  greatness,  and  the 
central  figure  around  which  all  others  revolve 382-417-431 

Personal  acknowledgment 432 

APPENDIX. 

Part  1 435-457 

Part  II 458-481 

Part  III 482-549 

Note  on  New  Ulm 550-554 


THE 


ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES 

OF 

HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ANCESTEAL  LINE  OF  HENKY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY.  —  THE  FIRST  AMERICAN 
SIBLEYS.  —  JOHN  SIBLEY  OF  SALEM.  —  JOHN  SIBLEY  OF  CHARLES- 
TOWN. —  DERIVATION  OF  THE  NAME;  SAXON,  NOT  NORMAN.  —  COATS 
OF  ARMS.  —  SIBLEYS  OF  HERTFORD  AND  KENT. —  "jOHN  SIBILE "  OF 
gray's  inn.  —  "JOHN  SIBLEY"  OF  ST.  ALBANS.  —  THE  SIBLEY  HIGH 
SHERIFFS  OF  HERTFORDSHIRE.  —  LETTERS  OF  HYDE  CLARKE,  ESQ., 
LONDON. —  SOCIAL  POSITION. —  INTERMARRIAGES.  —  DODINGTON  OF 
LINCOLN'S  INN. —  DR.  WILLIAM  GOUGE  OF  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY. 
— BACKWARD  GLANCE  FROM  CHARLES  I.  TO  WILLIAM  THE  CONQUEROR. 

—  DOMESDAY  BOOK.  —  FORWARD  GLANCE  FROM  CHARLES  I.  TO  PRES- 
ENT TIME. — "star  chamber"  AND  "CONVENTICLE."  —  SIBLEYS  AND 
THE  WINTHROP  FLEET.  —  GERM  OF  AMERICAN  INDEPENDENCE.  —  ENDI- 
COTT'S  ADVANCE.  —  LANDING  AT  SALEM  AND  CHARLESTOWN. —  THE 
"caput  ROTUNDUM." — CONNECTION  BETWEEN  JOHN  OF  CHARLES- 
TOWN  AND  JOHN  OF  SALEM.  —  SHIP  LISTS  LOST.  —  LINKS.  —  THE  SUTTON 
SIBLEYS.  —  SUTTON  TOWNSHIP,  AND  THE  LAND  GRANT. —  GODFEAR- 
ING   PEOPLE.  —  PURGATORY  AND    ICICLES.  —  SIBLEYS   AND   WHIPPLES. 

—  CHURCH  AND  PEW.  —  THE  SIBLEY  PEWS.  —  JOSIAH  SIBLEY  AND  "YE 
WIDOWS." — MUSIC.  —  SCENES  IN  CHURCH.  —  DISTINGUISHED  CONNEC- 
TIONS.— PURITANIC  NAMES.  —  BEER  BARREL  WHIPPED  FOR  WORKING 
ON  SUNDAY.  —  CAT  PUNISHED  FOR  CATCHING  A  MOUSE  DURING 
PRAYER. —  THE  TALL  BRIDE. —  MRS.  SIBLEY  AND  THE  BEAR.  —  SALEM 
WITCHCRAFT. —  INDIAN  JOHN  AND  THE  CAKE. —  BERKLEY'S  ODE, 
"westward  the  course  of  EMPIRE  TAKES  ITS  WAY." — BRILLIANT 
COLONIAL  AND  REVOLUTIONARY  RECORD  OF  THE  SIBLEYS.  —  CHIEF 
JUSTICE  SOLOMON  SIBLEY  OF  DETROIT,  FATHER  OF  HENRY  HASTINGS. — 
NABIES  OF  HIS  CHILDREN.  —  CATHERINE  WHIPPLE.  —  COMMODORE 
WHIPPLE. —  FIRST  SHOT  AT  THE  BRITISH  FLAG  ON  THE  SEAS. — 
STEPHEN  HOPKINS,  SIGNER  OF  THE  "DECLARATION." — COLONEL 
EBENEZER    SPROAT.  —  THE    "OHIO  COMPANY."  —  ORDINANCE    OF    1787. 

—  IMPORTANT  FACT  NOT  GENERALLY  KNOWN.  —  LANDING  OF  THE 
WHIPPLES  AND  SPROATS  AT  THE  MOUTH  OF  THE  MUSKINGHAM  RIVER, 

1 


2  ANCESTRY,   LIFE,    AND   TIMES   OF 

OHIO. —  "buckeye." — SARAH  WHIPPLE  SPROAT,  MOTHER  OF  HENRY 
HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  BOTH  PRLSONERS  IN  BRITISH  HANDS  AT  DETROIT. 
—  GIRLHOOD,  EDUCATION,  LIFE,  AND  DEATH  OF  MRS.  SOLOMON  SIB- 
LEY.—  HER  CHARACTER. —  BEAUTIFUL  TRIBUTE  TO  HER  MEMORY  BY 
MRS.    ELLETT. 

Henry  Hastings  Sibley  was  born  in  the  city  of  Detroit, 
February  20,  1811.  He  was  the  fourth  child  and  second  son 
of  an  honorable  sire.  Chief  Justice  Solomon  Sibley  of  Detroit, 
whose  wife,  Sarah  Whipj)le  Sproat,  was  the  only  daughter  of 
Colonel  Ebenezer  Sproat,  an  accomplished  officer  in  the  Conti- 
nental Army,  and  the  granddaughter  of  Commodore  Abraham 
Whipple  of  the  Continental  Navy,  an  illustrious  commander, 
the  first  who  fired  upon  the  British  flag  on  the  high  seas, 
during  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  the  first  to  float  the  star- 
spangled  colors  from  his  masthead  in  the  Thames  at  London. 
Judge  Solomon  Sibley  was  born  in  Sutton,  Massachusetts, 
October  7,  1769,  and  was  the  third  sou  of  Reuben  Sibley,  born 
in  the  same  place,  February  20,  1743,  who  was  the  second  son 
of  Jonathan  Sibley,  born  in  the  same  place,  September  11,  1718, 
who  was  the  fourth  son  of  Joseph  Sibley  II.,  born  in  the  same 
place,  November  9,  1684,  who  was  the  first  son  of  Joseph  Sibley 
I.,  born  in  the  same  place,  1655,  who  was  the  third  son  of  John 
Sibley  I.  of  Salem,  Massachusetts,  the  brother  of  Bichard  Sibley 
I.  of  Salem.  Tradition  vibrates  somewhat  as  to  the  precise 
time  when  these  two  brothers  first  appeared  in  America.  One 
account  states  that,  "In  the  year  1637,  John  Hampden, 
Oliver  Cromwell,  and  John  Pym,  and  others,  weary  of  the 
tyranny  of  Charles  Rex  and  Archbishop  Laud,  determined 
to  emigrate,  in  a  body,  from  England  to  America,  with  the 
purpose  of  establishing  themselves  as  the  nucleus  of  a  free 
community;  but  the  king  prohibited  their  embarkation. 
Among  the  many  young  men  who  were  thus  balked  in  their 
purpose  were  two  Sibley  brothers,  natives  of  Middlesex 
county,  near  London,  John  and  Richard  Sibley,  who  contrived 
to  escape,  however,  and  safely  landed  in  that  part  of  America 
then  known  as  'North  Virginia,'  but  now  as  'New  England,' 
locating  tliemselves  in  Salem,  Essex  county,  Massachusetts. 
Both  these  brothers  were  unmarried.  The  date  of  their 
aiiival  is  somewhat  conjectural,  one  authority  fixing  it  at 
Kill,  another  at  1620,  still  another  at  1624;  Derrick  Sibley 
of  ('iiiciiinati  saying  his  record  is  at  1632.     The  precise  fact 


HON.   HENRY    HASTINGS   SIBLEY,   LL.D.  3 

is  not  yet  decided."  ^  On  the  other  hand,  the  later  and  larger 
number  of  authorities,  so  far  as  accessible,  place  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Sibley  brothers,  John  and  Eichard,  about,  or  at, 
the  time  of  the  "Winthrop  Fleet,"  1629,  only  nine  years  after 
the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  from  the  Mayflower,  1620,  at 
Plymouth  Rock,  and  the  settlement  of  "New  Plymouth,"  the 
first  permanent  civil  foundation  ever  laid  in  New  England, 
Charles  I.  being  King  of  England.  Calculated  from  which- 
ever date,  the  generations  of  the  Sibley  family  in  America, 
from  John  I.  of  Salem,  to  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  of  Detroit, 
are  seven  generations,  and,  including  his  children  and  grand- 
children, are  nine  generations,  covering  a  period  of  two 
centuries  and  a  half.  ^ 

Ogilsby,  in  his  early  classic  "History  of  America,"  pub- 
lished 3671,  narrates  that,  between  1620  and  1650,  a  period  of 
thirty  years,  or  one  generation,  the  English  had  planted  forty- 
five  chief  towns  in  "New  England,"  the  first  one,  after  the 
location  of  Fort  St.  George,  being  '■'New  Plymouth;^''  the  second 
being  ^^Salem,^'  called  Mahunibeak  by  the  Indians,  and  built,  in 
the  year  1628,  by  ^^ merchant  adventurers;''''  the  third  being 
Charlestown,  or  Mashawmut ;  the  fourth  "Dorchester  in  the 
form  of  a  serpent;"  the  fifth  "Boston,  the  metropolis  of  all 
the  rest,  in  the  form  of  a  heart;"  the  next  "Roxbury,  which 
resembleth  a  wedge,  situate  between  Boston  and  Dorchester."  '^ 

From  the  early  records,  it  appears  that  a  "John  Sibley" 
resided  at  Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  in  1634,  while  another 
"John  Sibley"  resided  at  Salem,  Massachusetts,  1634  also. 
From  these  two  Sibleys,  with  "Richard  Sibley,"  a  brother  of 
John  of  Salem,  all  of  Puritan  stock,  have  descended  the  wide- 
spread connection  of  Sibleys,  not  only  in  New  England,  but 
throughout  the  whole  United  States.  From  the  Salem  Sibley, 
John  I.  of  Salem,  came  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  of  St.  Paul, 
through  the  line  of  Joseph  I.,  son  of  John  I.  of  Salem,  Joseph 
II.,  son  of  Joseph  I.,  Jonathan,  son  of  Joseph  II.,  Reuben,  son 
of  Jonathan,  and  Solomon,  son  of  Reuben,  as  already  stated. 

1  Genealogical  Record  of  the  Sibley  Family,  by  Hon.  John  Hopkins  Sibley,  St.  Louis 
Missouri,  1851.    Type-written  from  MS.,  p.  1. 

2  History  of  Sutton,  1701-187G,  pp.  717-726,  and  History  of  Union,  by  J.  L.  Sibley,  495- 
500.  Memorial  of  the  Morses,  Boston,  1850.  Leland's  Genealogical  Record,  Boston,  1S50. 
History  of  Grafton,  by  T.  C.  Pierce,  Worcester,  1879.  History  of  Spencer,  by  J.  Draper, 
Worcester',  1875.  Indexes  to  American  Pedigrees,  by  D.  S.  Durrie,  Albany,  1886.  Wells  of 
Southhold,  by  Hayes,  Buffalo,  1878,  pp.  91,  109,  136-7,  140-149, 150,  181.  Consult  under  the 
title  "Sibley." 

3  Ogilsby's  Hist.  America,  folio,  A.  D.  1671,  p.  154. 


4  ANCESTEY,   LIFE,   AND   TIMES   OF 

Of  the  first  two  John  Sibleys,  the  one  at  Charlestown,  the  other 
at  Salem,  we  shall  speak  more  hereafter.  It  is  enough  for  our 
present  purpose  to  state,  that  in  the  lines  of  both  John  and 
Eiehard  Sibley  of  Salem  are  found  a  multitude  of  men  and 
women  of  high  distinction,  adorning  the  annals  of  the  nation, 
in  all  the  various  walks  of  private  and  of  public  life. 

The  name  "67&?e?/"  is  a  name  of  long  standing  in  English  his- 
tory, as  it  is  of  various  orthography,  betraying  differences  as 
marked  in  its  development  as  are  the  ditferences  between  our 
English  now  and  that  of  the  times  of  Spenser  and  Chaucer. 
In  the  successive  genealogies,  heraldries,  and  public  records 
of  English  history,  it  assumes  a  multitude  of  variations;  as, 
"Sibell,"  "Sibille,"  "Sibli,"  "Sible,"  ^'Siblie,"  ''Sibile," 
''Sibili,"  "Sibilie,"  "Sibely,"  ''Sibly,"  "Sibley,"  "Seble," 
"Sybly,"  "Sybele,"  "Sybeli,"  ^'Sybyle,"  "Sybely,"  withan 
^^ alias  Sybery,"  the  liquid  "r"  being  interchangeable  with 
the  liquid  "1,"  and  moreover  drawn  into  close  relation  with 
"Sileby,"  by  means  of  the  marked  agreement  between  the 
armorial  bearings  of  the  families  of  "Sileby"  and  "Sybly." 
The  etymology  of  the  name  is  somewhat  conjectural.  It  is 
certainly  not  of  Greek  derivation  cognate  with  ''Sibyl" 
from  the  Doric  genitive  of  "Ze^^s"  (Sios),  Jupiter,  and 
"i?OM?e,"  the  counsel  or  oracle  of  Jove,  which  the  ancient 
Sibyl  professed  to  be,  even  though  we  find  the  names  "Sibyl 
Sibley,"  and  "Sibylla"  in  the  published  pedigrees.  It  can 
hardly  be  of  Norman  derivation,  meaning  a  "field  of 
wheat,"  "<Si,"  and  "We,"  since  this  violates  the  syllabic 
division  of  the  word.  It  is  doubtless  true  that  some  of  the 
family  were  found  in  England  at  the  time  of  William  the 
Conqueror,  but  the  genealogies  do  not  favor  a  French  origin. 
The  word  is  clearly  Anglo-Saxon,  from  "*9/&,"  which  means 
"aWm^ice,"  ^^ relationship,^^  ''peace,^^  and  '■'■leagh,^''  contracted 
to  "Zca,"  contracted  to  "^//,"  which  means  something  laid  down, 
and,  therefore,  either  a  "  taio,"  or  a  "/a>u7,"  i.  e.  territori/.  The 
line  in  Gray's  Elegy,  "The  lowing  herd  winds  slowly  o'er  the 
Zm,"  gives  us  one  of  the  senses  plainly.  The  other  sense,  cog- 
nat<i  to  that  of  the  German  "7«"//6«,"  to  lay,  and  hence,  a  rule 
laid  down  to  go  by,  a  lair,  is  familiar  to  all.^  The  meaning  of 
the  word  "Sibley"  is,  therefore,  either  (1)  Laiv  of  Peace,  or 
Feace  Law,  or  (2j  Land  of  Peace,  or  Peace  Land,  i.  e.  Alliance 

1  BoMworth's  Anglo-.'^axon  ami  i;ii>;lisli  Dictionary,  pp.  ISo,  200. 


HON.  HENKY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D. 

Land,  Union  Land,  the  idea  being  that  of  rest,  or  cessation, 
from  strife.  The  Eev.  John  Langdon  Sibley,  many  years 
librarian  in  the  University  of  Harvard,  regards  the  name  as  a 
synonym  for  ^^Kins7nen's  Land,^'  rejecting  the  primary  sense 
of  the  ' '  lea, "  or  "  ly, "  viz. ,  a ' '  law,  "and  also  the  primary  sense 
of  '"Sib,"  viz.,  "peace," — these  two  senses  giving  us  "■Peace 
Laic,^^ — as  "conjectural."  ^  On  the  contrary,  it  is  an  established 
rule  in  philology,  and  respected  by  all  the  later  lexicogra- 
phers, that  the  primary  sense  must  run  somehow,  and  be  seen 
somewhere,  in  all  the  subsequent  variations.  We  cannot  reject 
it,  but  must  hold  to  both  senses  in  their  fulness  of  historic 
usage.  The  combination  ' '  Sibley ' '  is  the  same  as  in  the  words 
"Dudley,"  "Horsley,"  "Morley,"  "Huxley,"  "Shipley," 
"Beverly,"  andseemstoexpress  the  fact  of  j)eace  and  brother- 
hood enjoyed  after  times  of  discord  and  war.  The  variations 
in  the  form  of  the  word  do  not  affect  its  root  meaning.  These 
are  common  to  all  words  in  the  progress  of  their  development. 
In  the  New  England  Genealogical  Dictionary  ^  the  forms  "Sib- 
ly,"  "Sebley,"  "Sybley,"  are  given  as  among  others  of  the 
same  name,  and  found  everywhere  in  the  history  of  the  family, 
precisely  as  we  Und  the  diffei'ent  forms  of  the  name  "Selby," 
"Selebi,"  "Selebe,"  "Silibie,"and  "Silby;"— a  circumstance 
which,  in  connection  with  the  close  resemblance  of  the  armo- 
rial bearings  of  the  two  families,  has  led  to  the  supposition  that 
the  name  "Selby"  is  only  a  variation  of  the  name  "Sibly." 
In  the  town  records  of  Sutton,  Massachusetts,  from  1718  to 
1876,wefind  "  John  Sible,"  •' Samuel  Sible,"  "Joseph  Sibly," 
"Martha  Sibley,"  all  of  the  same  family,  a  variation  frequent 
both  in  Old  and  New  England  in  the  sixteenth  and  seven- 
teenth centuries.  3 

The  armorial  bearings  of  the  different  branches  of  this 
ancient  and  widespread  family  are  diversified,  representing 
both  peace  and  war,  a  necessity  in  the  national  history  of  any 
family.  In  the  "  Collectanea  TopograpMca  et  Genealogica,^' 
London,  1837,  the  arms  of  the  Poyues  and  Sibells  are  given 
as  copied  from  an  old  worn  stone  below  the  east  door  of 
the  chapel  of  St.  Duustan's  in  the  west  of  London.  The 
inscription  reads  "Armes  of  the  Poyues  and  Sibells;  Barry, 
or  and  gu.,  in  chief  a  mullett,  impaling;  Gyronny  of  eight 


1  J.  L.  Sibley's  History  of  Union,  p.  495  note. 

2  Geneal.  Dictionary  of  New  England,  Vol.  IV,  93. 

3  mstory  of  Sutton,  1704-1876,  pp.  31,  37,  41,  47,  etc. 


6  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

az.,and  or;  four  martlets  in  lozenge  counterchanged.''^  In 
"Fairbairn's  Crests  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,"  we  have 
still  another  heraldry,  (1)  "Sy bells,"  five  halberds  in  pale,  az,, 
corded  together,  of  the  first  and  gu.,"^  and  (2)  '^  Sybele, 
Eugl;  out  of  a  ducal  coronet,  or,  a  swan's  head  between 
wings." ^  Another  coat  of  arms  we  find  described  as  "per 
pale,  az.,  and  gu.,  a  griffin  between  three  crescents,  ar.,"  and 
this  is  given  as  "the  arms  of  the  Sibley  family  of  St.  Albans, 
certified  to  their  descendants  in  this  county  (Hertford)  by 
the  present  officers  of  the  Herald's  College."  This  is  the 
crest  George  E.  Sibley,  Esq.,  of  New  York  City,  has  pub- 
lished as  the  crest  of  the  Sibleys  from  whom  came  the  first 
Sibleys  of  Charlestowu  and  Salem,  Massachusetts,^  and  is  also 
given  by  Burke,  in  his  General  Armory, — ''per  pale  az.  and 
gu, ,  a  griffin  passant  between  three  crescents,  ar. , "  —  as  the  arms 
of  the  same  family,  ^ —  the  griffin,  or  half  lion  and  half  vulture 
symbolizing  swiftness,  ferocity,  and  readiness  for  attack;  a 
heraldry  assumed,  doubtless,  at  some  period  of  the  family 
history,  by  one  of  its  great  branches,  to  commemorate  some 
important  achievement,  or  mark  some  new  distinction.  This 
in  no  way  conflicts  with  the  more  peaceful  heraldry  of  the 
ducal  coronet  and  swan's  head  with  wings,  as  given  in  Fair- 
bairn's  Crests,  a  coat  of  arras  believed  by  the  Sibleys  of  St. 
Albans  to  be  the  true  crest  of  the  family,  the  one  question 
being  whether  it  is  the  crest  of  the  Sibleys  from  whom  came 
"John  Sibley,  Mayor  of  St.  Albans,"  or  from  whom  came 
Heuiy  and  Thomas  Sibley,  Righ  Sheriffs  of  Hertfordshire. 

There  is  still  another  coat  of  arms  belonging  to  the  Sibley 
genei-ation,  and  of  marked  historic  interest.  It  is  that  of 
John  Sibley  of  Gray's  Inn,  Loudon.  In  Dugdale's  celebrated 
'■^Origines  Juridicales,^^  a  rare  historical  memorial  of  the 
ancient  English  law  courts  and  forms  of  trial,  we  find  the 
record  '■^ lohanne.s  tSihile,  1559,"  his  coat  of  arms  described  as 
fixed  ^Hn  Borealihus  (VtcUe  Auhe  Hospicii  Grayensis  FenestrU;^^^ 
that  is,  "on  the  north  window  of  the  hall  called  Gray's  Inn," 
one  of  the  most  i-enowned  seats  of  English  legal  learning. 


1  Coll.  Top.  el  (icmal.  Land,  I8:i7,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  lOf.,  lOS. 

2  Fairbairn'H  Crests,  Loml.  au<l  Kdin.,  Vol.  I,46'.',  and  Vol.  IF,  Plate  G2,  Crest  8;  also,  Vol. 
I,  402,  and  Vol.  II,  Plate  K3,  Crest  1. 

'.',  Burke's  (jcneral  Armory;  Sililoy.    See,  also,  .1.  Laiijjdon  .^ihU'v's  History  of    Union, 
p.  49.5. 

4  Wells  of  .Southhold,  pp.  l-'iO,  lOO. 

Tp  I)iigdale's  f)ri),'iiics  Jiiridicalcf',  p.  .'<07. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  7 

The  coat  of  arms  of  this  distinguished  man  is  "a  shield, 
quarterly;  in  first  and  fourth  a  tiger,  gules,  viewing  himself, 
backward,  in  a  mirror,  az. ;  in  second  and  third  a  chevron, 
gules,  between  three  cows'  heads,  caboshed,  fable." ^  Burke, 
in  his  General  Armory,  gives  "  the  tiger  looking  backward  in 
a  mirror,  en  reguard,"  as  the  heraldry  of  the  Sibells  of  Kent 
county,  thus,  "Sibell  (county  Kent),  ar.,  a  tiger  looking 
down  in  a  glass,  reguard,  az,"^  This  accounts  for  the  first 
and  fourth  quarters  of  the  shield,  and  identifies  the  "John 
Sibile"  of  Gray's  Inn  with  the  "Sibells  of  Kent,"  famous  in 
defense  of  the  nation.  The  explanation  of  the  second  and 
third  quarters  is  given  by  Hasted  in  his  "History  and  Survey 
of  the  County  of  Kent."  Writing  of  Axton  Hundred,  Kent, 
he  describes  the  estate  of  the  "Sibills  of  Little  Mote"  as  one 
which,  in  22  Henry,  Vol.  VIII,  was  greatly  increased,  and 
subsequently  passed  over,  through  Anne,  daughter  of  ' '  Lance- 
lot Sibill,"  to  John  Hope,  in  the  time  of  Charles  I.  At  the 
time  of  the  survey  of  Domesday,  the  estate  became  the 
possession  of  Odo,  bishop  of  Baieux,  and  half-brother  of 
William  the  Conqueror,  and  was  unquestionably  reclaimed  in 
some  late  period  of  English  history;  an  estate  which,  held,  at 
first,  by  its  Saxon  owners,  either  from  Harold  or  Edward  the 
Confessor,  1042,  was,  doubtless,  confiscated  in  1066,  and  given, 
like  others,  by  the  Conqueror,  to  his  relatives,  nobles,  and 
friends.  ^  The  explanation  of  the  three  cows'  heads  is  that 
the  manors  of  Little  Mote,  possessed  by  the  Sibells,  were 
increiised  by  the  marriage  of  one  of  the  Sibells  to  the  heir  of 
Cowdale,^^  and  the  heraldic  emblem,  commemorating  this 
accession,  is  the  '^ three  cows'  heads''^  in  the  third  and  fourth 
quarters  of  the  combined  escutcheon.  *  Among  these  Kentish 
"Sibells,"  in  the  time  of  Henry  VIL  we  find  "Thomas 
Sibell,"  and  "Nicolas  Sibell "  in  the  time  of  Edward  VI.,  both 
men  of  distinction. 

The  coat  of  arms,  therefore,  of  "  Jb7»t  Sibile,  1559,"  of 
Gray's  Inn,  connects  him  with  the  Kentish  Sibells,  and  com- 
memorates the  increase  of  their  estates  by  the  marriage 
referred  to.  The  names  with  which  the  name  of  this  eminent 
and  "utter  barrister"  of  Gray's  Inn  is  associated  are  second 


1  Hasted's  Hist.  Topog.  Survey,  Kent  County,  Vol.  II,  p.  533. 

2  Burke's  General  Armory,  p.  926. 

3  Hasted's  Hist,  and  Topograph.  Survey  of  County  of  Kent,  1797,  12  volumes,  Vol.  II, 
p.  538. 


8  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 


to  none  in  Englisli  history,  being  those  of  Spelman,  Sackville, 
Lovelace,  "Walsingham,  Lord  Bacon,  Yelverton,  and  others, 
all  fellows  of  the  same  renowned  hospice.^  As  to  the  St. 
Albans  branch  of  the  family,  authoritative  history  has 
preserved  the  name  of  "John  Sibley,  Mayor  of  the  Borough 
of  St.  Albans,  1557,  1569,  1578,"  and,  among  the  contemj)o- 
rary  mayors  of  St.  Albans,  "William  West,  1535,  William 
West,  1568,  1576,  and  Eichard  West,  1813."  2  The  contempo- 
raneous association  of  these  names  in  the  same  county  and 
city,  in  Old  England,  and  the  contemporaneous  appearance  of 
the  same  names,  in  Charlestown  and  Salem,  in  New  England, 
with  others  similarly  associated,  and  in  both  places,  go  far  to 
establish  the  fact  of  a  common  geographical  origin  and 
relation  of  the  Sibleys  of  New  England  to  the  Sibleys  of 
Hertfordshire,  and  of  Kent  also.  They  were  numerous,  and 
occupied  prominent  positions  on  both  sides  of  the  water. 
Among  the  high  sheriffs  of  Hertfordshire  we  find  "Henry 
Sibley,  Esq.,  of  Yardley,"  and  "Thomas  Sibley,  Esq.,  of 
Yardley,"  during  the  reign  of  George  L  and  "Edward  Sibley 
of  the  Monastery  of  St.  Albans,  pensioned  in  the  reign  of 
Queen  Mary  after  the  dissolution  of  the  religious  houses  in 
the  county  of  Hertford."^ 

That  the  Sibleys  of  Hertfordshire  and  Kent  were  of  the 
same  family  is  indisputable  to  anyone  who  understands  Eng- 
lish history.  What  the  relation  of  "John  Sibile,  1559,"  of 
Gray's  Inn  —  the  Kentish  Sibley  —  was  to  "John  Sibley,  mayor 
of  St.  Albans,  1557,"  is  a  question  of  interest.  Whatever  the 
solution  as  to  the  special  branches  of  the  family  and  their 
various  heraldries,  there  is  no  doubt  that  from  these  descended 
the  "John  Sibley"  of  Charlestown,  and  the  "John  Sibley" 
of  Salem,  Massachusetts,  the  last  the  blood  progenitor  of  Henry 
Hastings  Sibley  of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota.  In  one  of  the  most 
painstaking  investigations  of  a  portion  of  this  vast  connec- 
tion, found  in  the  work  entitled  "Wells  of  Southhold,"  the 
result  of  the  study  is  thus  stated:  "John  Sibley  I.  of  Charles- 
town, Massachusetts,  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  Sibley 
family  of  St.  All)ans,  Herts,  England,  where  John  Sibley  was 
l)urg('ss  and  mayor  in  the  time  of  Edward  VI.""* — a  monarch 

1  Dugdale'8  Ori^.  Jurid.,  pp.  279,  280. 

2  Hxstod,  ul  Huprn,  Vol.  1 1,  p.  :i;«. 

3  Hint,  iind  Antiq.  of  fVmiity  of  Ilurtfonl,  liy   Uol)t.  ('hitterl)uck,  Esq.,  F.Ii.S.,  London, 
1815,  Vol.  I,  p.  CI  ;  Appundix  2n,  Vol.  II,  p.  164. 

4  Wells  of  .Soutlihold,  Hayes,  pp.  159,  160. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  9 

who  ruled  ou  the  English  throne  from  1547  to  1553,  the  patron 
of  Cranmer,  whose  catechism  was  called  the  "Catechism  of 
Edward  VI.  "^  Only  one  and  a  half  generations  lie  between 
the  John  Sibleys  of  Hertford  and  Kent,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  John  Sibleys  of  Charlestown  and  Salem,  on  the  other,  and 
less  than  one  generation  between  their  immediate  descendants 
and  the  Sibley  immigration  to  America.  English  history 
seems  to  give  us  no  other  contemporary  "John  Sibley"  out- 
side the  John  of  Gray's  Inn,  and  the  John  of  St.  Albans,  the 
one  1559,  the  other  1557,  and  if  these  were  the  same  person, 
seen  under  different  relations,  then  we  have  but  one  "John" 
known  to  history  whose  name  the  Johns  of  Charlestown 
and  Salem  could  have  borne.  The  traditions  of  the  Sibley 
family  from  its  earliest  intimation  near  the  time  of  the  Con- 
queror; then,  later  still,  siding  with  the  Duke  of  York  against 
the  king  in  the  battle  of  St.  Albans,  A.  D.  1455,  where  the  first 
blow  was  struck  between  the  houses  of  York  and  Lancaster; 
their  hereditary  love  of  freedom  and  hatred  of  religious 
oppression;  the  fact  that,  not  only  among  the  Cavaliers  but 
also  among  the  Puritans  in  still  later  times,  the  sons  of  men 
of  distinction,  some  competent  as  merchants,  some  less  afduent 
than  others,  sought  a  home  in  Western  wilds;  the  conspicuous 
prominence  of  the  Sibleys  in  New  England  affairs  so  soon 
after  their  arrival;  the  identity  of  the  proper  names  in  the 
family  on  both  sides  of  the  sea,  and  of  associated  families  also; 
all  seems  clearly  to  determine  the  w^hole  question  of  family 
filiation.  The  two  following  letters,  however,  recently  com- 
municated, to  General  Henry  Hastings  Sibley,  by  his  relative, 
a  gentleman  of  high  distinction  in  the  city  of  London,  must 
be  conclusive  in  the  judgment  of  reasonable  men: 

32  St.  George's  Square,  S.  AV. 
London,  January  1,  1888. 
General  Henry  Hastings  Sibtetj, 

My  Dear  Sir:  I  have  always  regretted  that  the  ties  between  Old  and 
New  England  were  allowed  to  slacken  and  almost  die  olf.  Now,  however, 
there  is  a  new  spirit,  and  as  the  main  body  of  the  English  speaking  races 
are  now  on  your  continent,  so  I  hope  the  intercourse  will  be  better  kept  up. 
I  am,  as  you  are  aware,  descended  from  Elizaheth  Sibley,  one  of  the  main 
stock  in  our  county  of  Hertford.  In  the  course  of  events  it  has  fallen  to 
my  share,  in  association  with  my  Sibley  connections  here,  to  assist  in  eluci- 


1  Burnet's  History  of  His  Times,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  4. 


10  ANCESTEY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

dating  the  genealogy,  as  I  informed  you,  through  the  help  of  the  authorities 
of  St.  Albans,  and  I  have  been  enabled  to  settle  for  your  American  tribe  the 
filiation  from  that  branch. 

It  is,  therefore,  as  a  simple  tribute  to  a  national  and  family  feeling  that, 
on  the  occurrence  of  a  new  year,  I  salute,  in  your  person,  one  of  those  who 
have  conferred  high  distinction  on  the  Sibley  family.  It  may  be  that  it  will 
not  be  my  lot  to  do  so  for  many  more  years. 

We  have  our  General  Sibley  here,  also,  my  associate  in  his  boyhood, 
who  joined  his  family  in  India,  and  has  now  retired  from  the  service.  His 
brother  George  holds  the  Indian  decoration. 

Faithfully  Yours, 

Hyde  Claeke. 

The  second  letter,  written  a  few  months  later,  is  equally 
Important  and  interesting: 

32  St.  George's  Square,  S.  W. 

London,  April  23,  1888. 
General  Henry  Hastings  Sibley, 

My  Dear  Sir:  I  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  your  kind  letter  of 
February  6th.  In  the  north  window  of  the  great  hall  of  Giay's  Inn,  in 
Loudon,  one  of  our  ancient  law  colleges,  stood  the  arms  of 

John  Sibil e, 
1559. 

These  arms  are  recorded  by  the  famous  Dugdale  in  his  "  Origines  Juridi- 
cdles.''^  They  are  not  the  same  as  those  afterward  granted  to  the  Sibleys,  the 
sheriffs.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  Sibleys  had  their  arms,  at  least,  in 
the  sixteenth  century.  This  Sibley  was  most  probably  your  forefather,  John 
Sibley,  the  mayor  of  St.  Albans,  although  there  may  have  been  some  other 
John.  The  Gray's  Inn  Sibley  was  a  man  of  consideration.  An  event  in  the 
history  of  our  family  is  the  part  it  played  in  New  England.  It  has  not, 
however,  been  without  a  share  in  our  Indian  empire.  Besides  the  Sibleys, 
mostly  in  the  military  service,  the  Eivett-Carnacs  (Burnetts),  a  great  civil 
family,  descended,  by  marriage,  from  a  Sibley.  The  great  civilian.  Sir 
Richard  Temple,  baronet,  and  grand  commander  of  the  Star  of  India,  who 
was  lieutenant  governor  of  Bengal  and  ruled  100,000,000  of  the  human 
race,  was  also  descended  from  the  Rivett-Caruacs.  We  liave  sent  you  some 
coloni.sts  to  the  Pacific.  My  cousin  Arthur  Clarke  is,  for  the  time,  in  Santa 
Barbara,  California,  beaten  out  of  New  Zealand  liy  the  climate,  and  my 
cousin  Gertrude,  married  to  Captain  II.  A.  Mellon  of  Vancouver,  British 
Columbia,  is  taking  shelter  there  from  the  cold  of  Winnipeg,  together  with 
her  brother  Frederick  Clarke  and  family.     So  we  spread  out. 

Yours  Faithfully, 

Hyde  Clarke. 

Few  pedigrees  of  three  centuries  and  a  half  are  better 
establi.shed.  That  tlie  Sibleys  of  Hertford  were  of  the  same 
family  as  th«;  other  Sibleys  of  Somerset,  Kent,  Northamp- 
ton, Middlesex,  Essex,  Sussex,  Leicester,  aii<l   Ifuntingdon  is 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,   LL.D.  11 

attested  by  various  genealogies.  Everywhere,  wherever  their 
intermarriages  are  found,  some  are  among  those  of  the  high- 
est culture  in  the  realm.  In  "Marshall's  Genealogist,"  the 
entry  is  made  that  Eichard  Sibley  of  Cogenhoe,  Xorthampton, 
married,  1711,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  William  Dodington  of 
London,  son  of  George  Dodington  of  Horsington,  Somerset, 
son  of  the  celebrated  Christopher  Dodington,  Esq.,  of  Lin- 
coln's Inn,  who  married  the  daughter  of  the  Eev.  "William 
Gouge,  D.D.,  —one  of  the  most  eminent  divines  of  the  West- 
minster Assembly.  This  pedigree  is  attested  by  E.  S.  Dendy, 
the  Chester  herald,  and  G.  W.  Callen,  the  portcullis  pursui- 
vant of  arms.  ^  Eichard  Sibley  was  thus  great  grandson,  by 
marriage,  of  the  eminent  counselor  of  Lincoln's  Inn,  who 
was  the  son-in-law  of  Dr.  Gouge.  Mrs.  Sibley  was  thus  the 
great-granddaughter  of  the  same  eminent  counselor.  These 
relationships  are  samples  of  many  that  crown  both  sides  of  the 
house  with  distinction,  and  show  the  high  social  position  of 
the  Sibleys  in  great  part,  during  the  memorable  times  of  the 
Stuarts,  Cromwell,  and  James;  in  fact,  from  the  time  of 
Edward  to  Queen  Anne,  a  period  of  over  a  century  and  a  half, 
1547-1714. 

That  the  Sibley  family  is  of  great  antiquity  there  is  no 
question.  From  Charles  I.  to  William  the  Conquerer  is  a 
long  road,  but  the  Sibley  line  runs  the  whole  way,  retrograde 
from  the  landingof  the  "Winthrop  Fleet,"  1629-30,  to  thetime 
of  the  Plantagenet  Henry  II.,  if  not  to  the  battle  of  Hastings, 
1066.  Eminent  as  were  the  Kentish  and  St.  Albans  Sibleys, 
in  the  time  of  the  Tudors,  when  "John  Sibley"  was  mayor  and 
burgess  of  the  city,  sixty  years  before  the  Mayflower  sailed, 
we  find  them  no  less  so  during  the  times  of  the  "Wars  of  the 
Roses,"  and  memorable  battle  of  St.  Albans,  where  Somerset 
died  on  the  field,  and  of  Northampton,  where  the  royal  forces 
were  routed  and  Henry  VI.  himself  was  captured,  1460.  In 
"Willis'  Cathedrals  of  England"  we  find  the  following: 
"John  Sibley,  1459,  succeeded  Roger  Mersham  as  prebendary 
of  Lincoln."  2  In  the  age  of  Henry  Y.  we  find  the  name 
spelled  "Sibyle."  In  the  reign  of  Richard  II.,  son  of  the 
Black  Prince,  the  time  of  Wat  Tyler  and  the  peasants' 
rebellion  against  taxation,  the  name  is  written  in  the  record 
commission,   "Sibille."      Far  back  as  the  times  of  Wallace 


1  Marshall's  Genealogist,  Lond,,  1877,  p.  82. 

2  Willis'  Cathedrals,  Vol.  II,  p.  172. 


12  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

and  Bruce,  and  Edward  I.,  we  meet  it  ever  recurring  in  vari- 
ous forms.  In  the  "Eotuli  Hundredorum,"  1307-1272,  it 
stands  in  the  lists  of  the  owners  of  lands  in  the  counties  of 
Kent,  Oxford,  and  Suffolk,  written  as  "Sibeli,"  '"Sibili," 
"  Sibli,'^  "  Sybli,"  and  so,  in  other  rolls  or  registers  preserved 
in  the  Tower  of  London. ^  In  the  "Eotuli  Litterarum 
Clausarum,"  it  appears  as  "Sebley,"  and  "Sybly,"  just  as 
we  find  "  Selebi "  and  "Selebie"  for  "Selby,"  and  "Wyn- 
throop"  for  "  Winthrop."^  Beyond  the  "Magna  Charta," 
back  to  the  time  of  Eichard  the  Lion-Heart,  the  Crusades, 
and  the  Conquest  of  Ireland,  we  find  it,  1201-1189,  in  the 
" Eotuli  Chartarum,"  again  spelled  with  two  "ll's"  as  before; 
"exdono  Sibille  de  Eames  cum  Gloucestre."^  As  in  later 
times,  so  here,  in  the  heart  of  the  Middle  Age,  we  encounter 
the  name  in  the  feminine  form,  "Sibilla,"  from  which  doubt- 
less the  combination,  "Sibilla  Sibley,"  and  "Sibyl  Sibley," 
of  more  modern  date,  have  sprung.  Whether  the  combination 
was  made  in  deference  to  her  who  muttered  from  the  tripod 
of  Cuma,  and  the  authority  of  whose  interpolated  words  was 
great  in  the  Middle  Age, — ^'teste  David  cum  SibyJki^^^ — we 
have  no  means  of  knowing.  Eomance  gives  to  Charlemagne's 
queen  the  name  "  Sibilla."  So,  also,  we  find  the  name  "Fitz- 
Sibyl,"  the  Saxonized  form  of  "Filius  SibillfB,"  a  name 
occurring  in  the  parishes  of  Essex.  •*  In  the  ' '  Eotuli  Clau- 
sarum," 1201,  we  meet  with  "Sibilla,  filia  Eoberti  filii 
Hugonis  de  Sibbeford;" — Sibilla,  daughter  of  Eobert  Fitz- 
Hugh  of  Sibford,  and  in  the  same  Eotuli  we  find  "Sibilla 
filia  Agnetis  de  Lasceio,"  and  again,  "Sibilla  uxor  Jordani."^ 
So  in  the  Eotuli  of  Patents,  we  find  "Sibilla  mater  Wilhelmi 
de  Fulbrok,"  standing  in  connection  with  such  phrases  as 
"Sutton  litteris  attestata,"  "Sumerst  custodia  portium." 
"Sumest  foresta,"  "Somerstin  terra,"  and  "Somers."*'  And, 
in  the  rolls  of  patents  in  the  time  of  King  John  I.,  1186, 
after  the  conventional  ^'Sciafif>  quod,^^  we  find  a  grant  made 
to    "  Eicardus  de  Sibton," — the  Q'lbtown   being  simply   the 


1  J.  L.  Sibley's  Hist,  of  Union,  ii.  495. 

2  Uotuli  Litt.  ClaiiH.  asserv.  in  Tiu'ri  Lo  .idfii-si,  Vol.  I,  p.  778. 

3  Kotuli  Chartiirum,  asserv.  in  Turii  Londoin'nsi,  Vol.  I,  I'lirt  1,  ]).  1(>. 

4  Essex  Inst.  Collections,  passim 

5  Romll  Litt.  Clans,  asserv.  etc.,  Vol.  II,  p.  41,  p.  108,  A. 

C  Iliiii.,  Vol.  I,  Part  1,  ji.  80;  Uotuli  Lilt.  I'atentinni,  asserv.  in  Turri  Londonensi,  Vol.  I, 
I'ars  ],  p.  123. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  13 

SibZe«,  inhabited; — another  to  "Sibilla  uxor  Arsic,"  and 
another  to  "Sibilla,  Priorissa  et  Abbatissa  Electa  de  Berk- 
iug."i 

One  step  more  concludes  our  backward  journey.  We  have 
reached  the  twelfth  century,  A.  D.  1186,  covering  a  period  of 
nearly  four  centuries  and  a  half,  dated  backward  from  1629, 
the  time  of  the  "  Winthrop  Fleet,"  or  seven  hundred  years 
from  the  present  day.  It  is  but  a  step  to  William  the  Con- 
queror, A.  D.  1066,  the  eleventh  century.  The  "Domesday 
Book"  (Liber  Domus  Dei)  is  the  oldest  national  record  in  the 
archives  of  England,  the  record  of  the  "Great  Survey"  of 
England  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  made  in  order  to 
ascertain  who  were  rightful  holders  of  lands  and  estates 
under  Kings  Edward  and  Harold,  whether  as  allodial  or  under 
tenants.  That  no  record  of  Sibley  estates  or  lands  is  here 
found  is  no  proof  that  none  existed;  for,  first  of  all,  the 
survey  was  incomplete,  and  next,  it  is  well  established  that 
William,  bent  on  punishing  those  who  dared  resist  his  inva- 
sion, confiscated  their  estates,  giving  the  same  to  his  Norman 
knights,  while  their  Saxon  owners  were  left  to  shift  for 
themselves.  Nevertheless  we  find  ancient  traces  of  the 
"Albani,"  "Salebi,"  "Siboldas,"  and  "Sybton,"  which, 
taken  in  connection  with  the  history  of  the  Sibley  family  in 
England,  justifies  the  reasonable  conclusion  that  the  ancestral 
line  of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  extends 
backward,  from  the  present  moment,  to  the  eleventh  century, 
the  time  of  the  Norman  Conquest,  A.  D.  1066,  a  period  of 
over  eight  hundred  years. 

If,  now,  we  start  from  the  same  epoch  that  formed  the  base 
for  our  backward  search,  namely,  A.  D.  1629,  and  come  for- 
ward to  the  present  time,  our  labor  will  be  no  less  richly 
rewarded.  As  a  preliminary  word,  it  is  proper  to  say  that, 
while  the  Sibley  family  seem  in  English  history  to  side  with 
the  men  who  fought  for  civil  and  religious  liberty  and  against 
the  oppression  of  tyrants  and  kings,  yet  some  in  the  line  seem 
to  have  been  of  opposite  views.  In  Eymer's  Foedera  we  find 
the  following:  "For  John  Sibley.  The  king.  May  26,  1632, 
granted  to  John  Sibley  et  al.  the  of&ce  of  clerk  and  clerks  in 
the  star  chamber,  during  life;"^  and  in  the  famous  Dugdale's 


1  Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  Pars  1,  pp.  123,  144. 

2  Rymer's  Fsedera,  Vol.  XIX,  p.  348. 


14  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,   AND  TIMES   OF 

''Warwickshire  Knightlow  Hundred,"  the  record,  "Thomas 
Sibley,  clerk."  ^  This,  however,  is  offset  by  history  of  another 
hue.  In  Besse's  "  Sufferings  of  the  Quakers,"  we  find  that 
"Thomas  Sibley,  1684,  and  William  Sibley,  1685,  were  sent 
to  gaol  for  being  at  an  unlawful  meeting,  a  conventicle,  in 
Somersetshire." 2  In  the  same  volume,  "William  Sibley"  is 
chronicled  as  a  prisoner  in  1685,  in  Leicester,  for  like  offense, 
this  place  being  the  town  where  the  Rev.  Mr.  Higginson  was 
settled  as  pastor  before  he  sailed  in  the  "Winthrop  Fleet"  to 
Massachusetts,  1629;  the  time  about  which  the  first  Sibleys 
came  to  the  New  World.  This  piece  of  history  illustrates  the 
period.  The  '■'■Camera  Stellata-''  and  the  ^'■Conventicle''^  were 
but  obverse  sides  of  the  same  historic  epoch,  adorned  with 
the  face  of  Charles  on  the  one  side  and  of  Cromwell  on  the 
other,  and  it  was  but  natural  that  then,  as  now,  in  every  great 
national  question,  families  were  represented  on  both  sides. 
The  burden  of  record,  however,  goes  to  show  that  the  Sibleys 
were  of  Puritanic  stock,  men  of  the  same  mind  with  those 
who  accompanied  John  Robinson  to  Holland,  or  Winthrop  to 
Salem.  The  same  counties  from  which  the  sires  came  are  the 
counties  in  which,  to-day,  their  children  are  enrolled  as  "  Own- 
ers of  Land  in  Eugland,"  the  counties  of  Kent,  Middlesex, 
Northampton,  Essex,  Sussex,  Hertford,  Somerset,  Leicester, 
Lincoln,  Warwick,  and  Devon.  ^ 

The  epoch  of  history  when  the  "Winthrop  Fleet"  bore 
"  John  Sibley  "  to  Massachusetts,  was,  next  to  that  of  the  great 
Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  of  which  it  was 
only  an  echo,  the  grandest  in  modern  times.  It  was  a  time 
when  the  spirit  of  Liberty  rekindled  her  torch,  and  a  Hamp- 
den, Sydney,  and  Pym  were  abroad  in  the  majesty  of  popular 
rights;  a  time  Avhen  the  commons  in  Parliament  dared  to  affirm 
the  freedom  of  speech  as  their  ancient  right,  and  the  watch- 
words "Petition  of  Right,"  and  "Freedom  to  Worship  God," 
sounded  from  Pmitan  tongues.  Both  denied  by  king,  lords, 
star  chaml)er,  and  high  commission,  the  eyes  of  thousands 
were  turned  to  where.the  Pilgrims,  but  nine  years  before,  had 
made  their  home.  A  remarkal)le  circumstance,  scarce  known 
to  the  American  peoi)lo,  is  tiiat  the  Winthrop  expedition  was 
conditioncil  on  a  fad  \vlii(;h  boiHi  in  its  breast][tlie  germ  of  the 

1  llotuli  Hunilr.  Miirtoi),  Vol.  I.  p.  :527. 

2  Uesse'.s  Sullbriti^H  of  I  lie   Qiiakei's,  Vol.  1,  pp.  0:{8-G44. 

'.',  Owners  of  Lanil  in  l>iigl:iiiil,  VbI.s.  I,  II,  III,  puH.'iiiii,  Loud.,  187."). 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL,D.  15 

whole  American  Eevolution  and  the  absolute  independence  of 
the  colonies  in  1776.  That  fact  was  the  surrender  of  the  char- 
ter, and  transfer  of  the  whole  government  of  the  colony  and 
company  of  Massachusetts  Bay  to  the  company  itself;  a  present, 
absolute,  and  total  release  of  the  colonists  from  a  foreign  jurisdic- 
tion, forever.  Certain  men  of  learning  and  wealth,  with  wide 
influence  over  others,  and  who,  for  several  years,  had  discussed 
the  matter,  met,  August  26, 1629,  under  the  shadow  of  the  walls 
of  the  University  of  Cambridge,  in  Old  England,  and  "having 
weighed  the  greatness  of  the  work  in  regard  of  its  conse- 
quences, God's  glory,  and  the  Church's  good,"  offered  to  the 
general  court  of  the  Massachusetts  company,  to  "  cross  the 
high  seas  under  God's  protection,"  and  make  a  new  and  firm 
plant  in  the  New  World,  taking  with  them  their  families, 
friends,  and  all  things  needed,  '■^provided  the  whole  government, 
together  with  the  patent  for  said  plantation  (the  Plymouth  com  - 
pany's  plant)  he  first,  by  order  of  court,  legally  transferred  and 
established  to  remain  ivith  iis  and  others  icho  shall  also  inhabit  said 
plantation.^ ^''-  Not  as  mere  adventurers  they  came,  but  to  stay 
forever;  yet  only  upon  condition  that  the  ''^  whole  governmenV^ 
go  with  them  to  Salem,  and  the  company  be  free  forever  from 
subordination  to  a  foreign  jurisdiction.  The  immensity  of 
that  proposition  was  felt  by  the  general  court,  but  the  splen- 
dor of  the  offer  extorted  assent,  and  "  Winthrop's  Fleet"  was 
the  result.  Tradition  relates  that  in  one  of  the  vessels  of  that 
fleet  of  fourteen  sail,  came  "Jo/mi  Sibley,'^  the  ancestor  of 
Henry  Hastings  Sibley  of  St.  Paul.  Minnesota.  It  was  a  fleet, 
departing  from  different  ports,  and  landing  at  different  dates, 
"furnished  with  men,  women,  and  children,  all  necessaries, 
men  of  all  handicrafts,  and  others  of  good  condition,  wealth, 
and  quality,  with  two  hundred  and  sixty  kine,  and  other  cat- 
tle, to  make  a  firm  plantation  in  New  England."  ^  Godfear- 
ing men,  among  whom  were  "merchants  and  capitalists  of 
London,  and  others  also  who  mingled  hopes  of  profit  with  a 
desire  to  do  good  and  advance  the  cause  of  religion;"^  men 
like  Governor  Winthrop,  Sir  Henry  Eosewell,  Sir  John  Young, 
Dudley,  Humphrey,  Sibley,  Saltonthall,  West,  Coddington, 
Southcoat,  Johnson,  Lothrop,  Thorndike,  with  some  fifteen  or 


1  See  tlie  evidence  produced  by  Hon.  Robt.  C.  Winthrop,  President  Massachusetts  His- 
torical Society,  in  Wisner's  "  Memorial  History  of  Boston,"  Vol.  I,  p.  101. 

2  Prince's  Annals,  Vol.  II,  p.  199. 

3  Wisner's  Mem.  Hist,  of  Boston,  Vol.  I,  pp.  88-107. 


16  ANCESTIIY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

twenty  ministers,  such  as  Higginsou,  Davenport,  Skeltou,  Nye, 
Ward,  Maverick,  Bright,  and  Smith,  a  company,  in  all,  of 
nearly  two  thousand  souls. 

The  diiference  between  old  and  new  style  reckoning  has 
caused  some  confusion  in  the  early  records,  embarrassing,  on 
some  accounts.  Of  this,  Prince  and  others  have  complained. 
The  fact  is  that  the  "Winthrop  Fleet"  is  so  called  from  its 
chief  personage,  John  Winthrop,  first  governor  of  the  colony 
under  its  surrendered  patent.  Its  prejjaration  began  in  the 
year  1628-1629,  and  was  in  progress  during  the  consideration 
of  the  proposal  to  bring  the  government  of  the  colony,  this 
time,  along  with  the  emigrants  themselves.  As  early  even  as 
the  autumn  of  1628,  six  vessels,  bearing  two  hundred  English 
emigrants,  entered  the  harbor  of  Salem  in  Massachusetts  bay, 
their  governor,  John  Endicott,  selecting  for  them  the  place  of 
their  settlement.  This  was  the  advance  guard  of  the  "Win- 
throp Fleet."  The  Plymouth  company,  March,  1628,  having 
granted  to  Endicott  and  twenty-five  others  the  territory  from 
three  miles  south  of  the  bay  to  three  miles  north  of  tlie 
extremest  point  of  the  Merrimac,  Endicott  sailed  from  England 
and  landed  at  Kaumkeag  (Salem),  where  Conant  welcomed 
his  arrival.  In  June,  1629,  Rev.  Francis  Higginsou,  with 
another  large  company,  arrived  in  Salem,  and  July  4,  1629, 
founded  Charlestown,  the  charter  already  alluded  to  being 
assigned  to  the  colonists,  August,  1629.  Thus,  a  purely 
mercantile  company  became  an  independent  provincial  gov- 
ernment, Winthrop  being  elected  as  the  first  governor  of  the 
colony  under  its  new  regime^  one  detachment  of  vessels  bearing 
406,  another,  in  June,  1630,  bearing  800,  and  another,  in  July, 
700  more  emigrants  to  the  New  World.  In  short,  Endicott' s 
and  Winthrop's  fleets  were  parts  of  one  vast  emigration,  in 
the  years  1628-1630,  impelled  by  the  "new  idea  of  an  in- 
dependent existence  on  the  transatlantic  side,"  the  vessels 
departing  at  different  dates,  and  from  different  ports,  and 
arriving  at  Salem  at  different  times.  The  great  movement,  of 
Mlii(;h  the  "Winthrop  Fleet"  was  the  main  body,  included 
all  who  sailed  immediately  before  and  immediately  after  the 
main  body,  in  the  absence  of  complete  ship-lists  of  emigrants, 
port  records  being  either  lost  or  not  accessible,  room  exists 
for  some  latitude  of  conjecture  as  to  the  precise  date  of  the 
ai-rival  of  certain  peisons.  All  the  more  is  this  so,  inasmuch 
as  a  number  of  the  ships  of  both  Endicott's  and  Winthrop's 


•  HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  17 

fleets  continued  to  sail  under  their  charters,  rej)eating  their 
trips,  to  and  fro,  for  several  years  after  1628-1630.  The  date 
of  the  arrival  of  the  Arabella,  or  admiral  ship,  of  twenty- 
eight  guns,  bearing  Winthrop,  is,  however,  well  ascertained, 
being  June  24,  1630,  the  vessel  landing  at  Naumkeag,  or 
Nahumkeik  (Salem),  named  from  the  Hebrew  ^^Nahum-lceik,^'' 
^^ Haven  of  Comfort,^ ^  and  from  Psalm  76:2,  "In  Salem  also 
is  his  tabernacle."^  We  read  that  "some  of  the  company 
moved  to  Mishaicum,  to  which  Governor  Endicott  gave  the 
name  of  Charlestown,  on  Massachusetts  bay,  and  which  re- 
ceived the  company  of  Winthrop," ^  the  Pilgrims  being  now 
saluted  by  the  newcomers  as  an  "independent  colony,"  the 
fleet  having  borne  both  charter  and  sovereignty  into  their 
hands. 

In  "Felt's  Annals  of  Salem"  the  entry  is  made,  like  that 
of  so  many  others,  "Sibley  John,  mr.  c.  fl.  1629;" — that  is, 
"John  Sibley,  married,  came  over  in  the  fleet,  1629; — an  entry 
made  when  enumerating  the  ' '  first  settlers  in  Salem,  many  of 
whom  came  from  Northampton,  the  north  of  Scotland,  and 
south  of  England. "3  In  Drake's  "History  of  the  Antiqui- 
ties of  Boston,"  the  name  "John  Sibley"  is  enumerated  in 
the  list  of  names  known  to  have  been  in  Salem  before  and  in 
the  year  1629."*  Of  this  John  Sibley  of  Salem,  John  Lang- 
don  Sibley,  librarian  of  Harvard  University,  says,  that  "he 
took  the  freeman's  oath  September  3,  1634;  was  the  sixteenth 
on  the  list  of  members  of  the  First  church,  Salem;  was  select- 
man in  1636  at  Salem;  had  a  grant  of  land  of  fifty  acres  at 
Manchester,  1636;  was  selectman  there  also  in  1636;  an  exten- 
sive land  owner;  died  in  Manchester,  1661;  had  nine  children, 
four  boys  and  five  girls;  and  his  widow,  Eachel,  brought  the 
inventory  into  court,  and  'ye  court  doe  order  that  ye  estate 
be  left  in  ye  widoe's  hands  to  bring  up  ye  children  till  ye  court 
take  further  order." ^  Hanson,  in  his  "History  of  Danvers," 
says  of  this  same  Sibley,  that  "he  had  land  near  Salem  vil- 
lage, now  probably  Danvers."^  Savage,  president  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  says  of  this  Sibley  also  that 


1  Cotton  Mather's  Magnalia,  p.  67 ;  Prince's  Annals  of  Salem,  Vol.1,  p.  188  ;  Hubbard's 
History  of  New  England,  p.  102 ;  Wisner's  Mem.  Hist,  of  Boston,  Vol.  I,  p.  60. 

2  Prince's  Annals,  Vol.  II,  pp.  188, 240. 

3  Felt's  Annals  of  Salem,  Vol.  I,  pp.  67,  172. 

4  Drake's  Hist.  Antiq.,  Boston,  p.  57. 

5  J.  Langdon  Sibley's  Hist,  of  Union,  p.  497. 

6  Hanson's  Hist.  Danvers,  p.  31. 


18  ANCESTRY,    LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

"betook  the  freeman's  oath  Septembers,  1634;  was  select- 
man 163G;  had  land  at  Manchester  and  Jeffrey's  creek,  1637; 
died  at  Manchester  1661;  his  widow,  Rachel."^  And  Barber, 
in  his  "Massachusetts  Historical  Collections,"  says  that  the 
church  to  which  he  was  admitted  as  a  member,  "was  the 
first  Protestant  church  formed  in  the  New  "World.  "^  The 
early  records,  however,  make  mention  of  a  John  Sibley  of 
Charlestown,  impossible  to  be  identified  with  the  "John  Sib- 
ley of  Salem,"  inasmuch  as,  though  bearing  the  same  name, 
yet  they  took  the  oath,  and  united  with  the  church,  at  differ- 
ent dates,  died  twelve  years  apart,  their  families,  the  names 
of  their  widows,  and  inventory  of  their  estates  being  differ- 
ent also.  Of  the  Charlestown  John  Sibley,  it  is  recorded  by 
Wyman,  in  his  "Genealogies  and  Estates  of  Charlestown, 
Massachusetts,"  as  follows:  "Sibley  John;  adm.  with  wife, 
December  21,  1634,  5;  mr.  Sarah  who  mr.  Francis  Chickering, 
[1]  (3)  John  Bowles  [1]  died  November  30,  1649.  Issue,  Sarah, 
mr.  Francis  Dwight.  Estates:  4  acres  planting  ground;  home 
2  acres;  4  acres  at  Linefield;  1  acre  at  South  Mead;  2 J  acres 
cow  common;  10  acres  woods;  28  acres  Waterfield."^  Of  this 
Charlestown  Sibley,  Felt  also  says,  "John  Sibley,  with  Sarah 
his  wife,  united  with  the  church  at  Charlestown,  Massachu- 
setts, December  21,  1634,  and  died  at  Charlestown,  November 
30,  1649.  His  name  is  spelled  'Sibilie'  in  1650,  in  the  record 
of  his  estate."^  The  inventory  differs  from  that  given  by  J. 
Langdon  Sibley,  as  also  does  the  record  that  John  Sibley  of 
Charlestown  was  married,  and  had  issue,  although  their  names 
are  not  produced.  In  the  inventory  in  the  probate  office, 
East  Cambridge,  are  mentioned  things  other  than  are  found 
in  Wyman's  account,  as,  for  instance,  this  entry,  "Amies,  a 
corslet,  headi^iece,  sword,  and  pike."  This  looks  much  like 
the  costume  of  the  "Hew-A gag-in- j)ieces"  kind  of  men,  who 
lived  just  before  and  during  the  Cromwellian  times;  men  of 
the  ''^  Caput  Hoiundiim,^^  who  always  x^niyed  before  making  a 
cavalry  charge,  then  plunging,  "with  the  high  praises  of  God 
in  their  mouth,  and  a  two-edged  sword  in  their  hand,"  dashed 
thioiigh  tl)e  Ibe,  and  doxologized  loud  on  the  other  side,  shout- 
ing, "Sucli  honor  liave  all  saints;    Praise  ye  the  Lord!"  At 


1  Gencalogicitl  Diut.  of  New  England,  Vol.  IV,  i)]).  !),'$,  94. 

2  Harber's  Man.  HiBt.  Coll.,  p.  22.'). 

'A  Wynian'H  TienealoK.  and  Kstales,  Vol.  II,  p.  8G5. 
4  I'ell'H  AnnalH  of  Salem,  Vol.  I,  p.  172. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  19 

any  rate,  it  was  the  sort  of  stuff  of  which  the  stalwarts  of  yore 
were  made;  men  who  knew  how  to  take  off  the  head  of  a  king, 
demolish  a  throne,  dismiss  the  commons  at  will,  clear  the  seas 
of  pirates,  and  demand  cessation  of  persecution  against  the 
Piedmontese,  the  guns  of  Cromwell  threatening  to  pulverize 
the  castle  of  St.  Angelo.  Of  snch  stuff,  doubtless,  were  the 
New  England  Sibleys. 

Plainly,  the  Salem  Sibley  and  the  Charlestown  Sibley  are 
different  persons.  That  they  were  of  the  same  connection, 
there  can  be  no  doubt.  That  they  crossed  together,  at  the 
time  of  the  "  AYinthrop  Fleet,"  is  admitted  by  all  writers 
except  Savage,  whose  doubt  is  based  simply  on  the  fact  that 
he  had  not  seen  the  original  record.  He  does  not  question 
Felt's  statement  that  "John  Sibley,  Salem,  came  over  with 
Higginson,  1629,"  but  simply  intimates  that  he  has  "not 
seen  the  evidence,"^  He  adds  this,  however,  "John  Sibley, 
Charlestown,  1634,  wife  Sarah,  freeman  May  6,  1634,  spelled 
with  "e"  in  first  syllable,  died  November  30,  1649."  The  evi- 
dence we  have,  therefore,  is  that  of  contemporary  history, 
official  records  of  churches,  courts,  and  colony,  and  uncontra- 
dicted universal  tradition.  ^  It  is  certain  that  two  Sibleys  are 
found  as  early  as  1634,  or  within  three  years  of  1630,  the  one  at 
Charlestown,  the  other  at  Salem,  both  uniting  with  the  church 
the  same  year,  and  one  declared  to  be  the  sixteenth  on  the 
list  of  members  in  the  First  church  at  Salem,  the  earliest 
Protestant  church  in  the  New  "World.  Official  records  furnish 
public  notices  of  both.  This,  and  the  facts  that  both  were 
selectmen  so  soon,  land  owners  in  many  different  places, 
prominent  and  influential  in  public  affairs,  argue  their 
association  with  the  2,000  who  came  over  in  the  fleet  to  make 
a  "firm  plant."  And  the  universal  tradition,  uncontradicted 
for  more  than  two  and  a  half  centuries,  is  more  than  enough 
to  establish  a  claim,  which,  were  its  evidence  applied  to  the 
investigation  of  an  ancient  title  deed,  would  be  deemed  con- 
clusive. The  testimony  of  Prince  that  some  of  the  company 
made  Salem  their  home,  while  others  made  Charlestown,  is 
not  without  significance  for  our  inquiry.      The  questions  of 


1  Savage's  Genealogical  Diet.,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  93,  94;  Hist,  of  Union,  by  J.  L.  Sibley,  p.  496. 

2  See  Hotten's  Original  Lists  of  Persons  of  Quality,  Emigrants,  Religious  Exiles,  Politi- 
cal Rebels,  Serving  Men, Maidens  pressed,  and  others,  who  went  from  Great  Britain  to  the 
American  Hantations.  1600-1700,  N.  Y.  1874.    Introd.,  pp.  31,  24,  28. 


20  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,   AND   TIMES   OF 

importance  are  (1)  the  relation  of  the  Charlestown  to  the 
Salem  Sibley,  (2)  the  immediate  links  between  the  English 
and  American  Sibleys  in  1629,  or  even  in  1634.  To  detect  the 
immediate  link  that  existed,  in  times  of  civil  war,  disturbance 
of  the  archives,  and  exchange  of  an  Old  World  for  the  New, 
in  a  genealogy  extending  back  nine  generations,  is  a  work  of 
special  difficulty.  Like  difficult  it  is  to  detect  the  immediate 
link  in  the  line,  still  backward  among  the  St.  Albans  Sibleys, 
fifteen  generations  ago.  That  such  links  are  recorded,  some- 
where, no  reasonable  antiquarian  or  archseologist  can  doubt. 
That  the  "Salem  Sibleys"  are  the  blood  progenitors  of  the 
"Sutton  Sibleys,"  Massachusetts,  is  indisputable  history,  a 
history  that  rests  upon  the  universal  tradition  and  collateral 
proof  that  "John  Sibley"  of  Salem  crossed  the  high  seas  in 
the  ""Winthrop  Fleet"  of  1629.  In  the  standard  and  pains- 
taking "History  of  Sutton,"  a  large  volume  of  rare  interest, 
the  record  is  made  by  official  action  of  the  "Town of  Sutton," 
thus:  "The^rs^  Sibleys  in  this  country  came  over  from  Eng- 
land in  the  fleet,  A.  D.  1629, —  only  nine  years  after  the  settle- 
ment of  old  Plymouth, — and  settled  in  the  town  of  Salem. 
They  were  supposed  to  be  brothers,  and  their  names  were 
John  and  Ei chard.  They  both  had  wives.  They  united  with  the 
church  December  21,  1634,  and  John  Sibley  took  the  freeman's 
oath  May  6,  1635.  He  was  a  selectman  of  the  town  of  Salem 
and  went  to  the  general  court  at  Boston.  He  died,  1661,  leav- 
ing nine  children,  five  daughters  and  four  sons.  His  sons' 
names  are  John,  born  March  4,  1648,  a  captain  and  selectman; 
William,  born  July  8,  1653;  Joseph,  born  1655;  Samuel,  born 
February  12,  1657 ;  Joseph  Sibley,  the  son  of  John,  was  born  1665. 
This  Joseph  teas  the  father  of  the  Sutton  Sibleys,  his  ivife^s  name 
Susanna.  They  had  seven  children,  one  daughter,  Hannah, 
who  married  Ebnezer  Daggett,  August  10,  1722.  The  sons 
were  Joseph,  John,  Jonathan,  Samuel,  William,  Benjamin. 
Three  of  these,  Joseph,  John,  and  Jonathan,  all  brothers,  were 
among  the  thirty  families  who  were  entered  as  settlers  in  the 
4,000  acres.  Samuel's  name  appears,  soon  after,  as  occupying 
a  i)lace  with  Joseph,  and,  in  the  seating  of  the  meeting  house 
in  1731,  the  names  of  William  and  Benjamin  Sibley  are  found 
assigned  to  the  fifth  seat  on  the  lower  floor."  ^  This  clear  record 
tells  the  story  of  the  pioneer  family,   and  reveals  the  Sutton 

1  History  of  8utloD,1704-18"6,  p.  718. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  21 

ancestor  of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  of  8t  Paul.  That  ancestor  is 
Joseph  Sibley  of  Sutton,  third  son  of  John  Sibley  of  Salem,  his 
Salem  ancestor  being  sev^en  generations  distant  from  him. 

The  township  of  Sutton,  where  these  six  Sibley  brothers 
began  their  pioneer  work,  was  a  tract  of  land  eight  miles 
square,  embracing  an  Indian  reservation  bought  from  John 
Wampus  by  a  company  called  the  "Proprietors  of  Sutton," 
and  consisting  of  thirty  families,  pledged  to  improve  the  same. 
In  1704,  or  seventy-five  years  from  the  time  of  the  "Wiuthrop 
Fleet,"  it  was  founded.  The  deed  conveying  the  land  is  quaint 
enough.  It  passes  the  right  and  title  to  the  thirty  families,  of 
which  the  Sibleys  were  six,  "together  with  all  and  singular 
the  pastures,  soils,  swamps,  meadows,  rivers,  pools,  ponds, 
woods  and  underwoods,  trees,  timber,  stones,  fishing,  fowling 
and  hunting  rights,  members,  hereditaments,  emoluments, 
profits,  privileges,  and  appurtenances  thereto  belonging  or  in 
any  way  appertaining;  the  same  to  be  called  Sutton;  to  have 
and  to  use  and  to  hold,  to  exercise  and  enjoy;  yielding  to  our 
sovereign  lady.  Queen  Anne,  and  her  successors,  forever,  one- 
fifth  part  of  the  gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones,  from  time 
to  time  and  at  all  times,  which  forever  hereafter  shall  happen 
to  be  found,  gotten,  gained,  or  obtained  in  any  of  said  lands 
and  premises,  or  within  any  part  or  xjarcel  thereof,  etc. 
Dated  at  Boston,  May  15th,  in  the  year  of  her  Majesty's  reign, 
Anno  Domini  1701: — J.  Dudley,  Esq."  ^  Such  the  land, 
and  the  deed  of  the  land,  each  bona  fide  settler  and  head  of 
family  having  a  "thirty-acre  lot"  and  a  "five  hundred-acre 
right."  Among  the  chief  "ponds"  are  mentioned  "Dorothy 
pond,"  "Eamshornpond,"  and  "Crooked  pond;"  and  among 
the  chief  caves,  "the  cavern  commonly  called  Purgatory  where 
the  icicles  hang  from  the  crevices  of  the  rocks,  and  even  solid 
bodies  of  ice  are  found,  although  the  descent  is  to  the  south; 
a  stupendous  place  .that  fills  the  mind  of  the  beholder  with 
exalted  ideas  of  the  infinite  power  of  the  Creator."  ^ 

Like  the  early  Puritan  stock,  the  Sibleys  were  all  a  religious 
and  God-fearing  people,  as  were  the  Whij)ples  with  whom 
their  names  are  always  associated.  At  the  town  meeting, 
whose  government  was  simply  that  of  selectmen,  chosen  by  the 
people,  it  was  "voated,"  March  5,  1717,  that  "the  carrying- 
on  of  the  worship  of  God  and  building  a  meeting  house  shall 


1  History  of  Sutton,  1704-1876,  pp.  10,  11. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  14. 


22  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

begin  from  this  day,  and  twenty  pounds  be  raised  to  be  paid 
into  the  clerk's  hands  for  that  use,"  ^  an  enterprise  prosecuted 
with  vigor,  the  church  edifice  being  completed  within  the 
following  year,  "40  x  36  feet,  folding  doors  in  front,  lighted  by 
two  windows  of  diamond  glass  at  each  side  and  end  for  the 
lower  floor,  one  of  the  same  size  for  each  end  of  the  gallery, 
the  seats  ordinary  benches,  with  backs;  the  minister  to 
receive  a  yeerly  salary,  and  a  commitee  to  acquaint  Mr.  John 
McKinstree  that  the  town  has  voated  him  a  call  to  the 
ministry,  and  to  ask  his  acceptance,  and  that  he  be  ordained 
AYednesday,  November  9,  1720."^  How  thoroughly  in  earnest 
these  Puritans  were,  with  religion  as  the  chief  thing,  and  their 
"acres"  of  second  importance,  the  world  knows.  "It  con- 
cerneth  Xew  England,"  says  one,  "to  always  remember  that 
it  is  a  religious  plantation,  and  not  a  commercial  one.  The 
profession  of  pure  doctrine,  worship,  and  a  godly  discipline, 
is  written  on  her  forehead.  Worldly  gain  was  not  the  end  or 
design  of  the  people  of  New  England,  but  religion.  If,  there- 
fore, any  man  among  us  shall  make  religion  as  ticelve,  and  the 
world  as  thirteen,  such  an  one  hath  not  the  spirit  of  a  true  New 
England  man." ^  Such  was  the  tone  not  only  at  Chelmsford 
where  these  words  were  spoken,  but  also  at  Sutton.  In  morals, 
the  town  of  Sutton,  under  the  rule  of  selectmen  such  as  the 
Sibleys  and  Whipples,  seemed  faultless.  The  only  crime  that 
appeared  to  disturb  the  conscience  of  the  upright  was  the 
appalling  outburst  of  luxury  in  connection  with  the  town's 
increasing  i^rosperity,  as  seen  in  the  atrocious  custom  of 
"drinking  tea  with  a  silver  spoon  out  of  a  china  cup."  It 
had  already  come  to  this  in  1720,  that  "the  tradesman's  wife 
sips  tea,  for  an  hour  at  a  time,  out  of  chinaware,  morning 
and  afternoon,  and  there  is  a  silver  spoon,  silver  trays,  besides 
other  trinkets;  the  chief  blame  falling  on  Madame  Hall,  who 
had  the  first  tea-kettle  ever  brought  to  Sutton,  and  Deacon 
Pierce's  wife  the  second;  holding  a  pint  each;  and  there  has 
been  no  birtli  in  our  town  for  some  time!""*  The  times  were 
changing.  March  4,  1723,  it  was  "voated,"  in  view  of  the 
progress  of  the  town,  "to  seat  the  meeting  honse  so  as  to 
l)lease  the  town,"  and  also  "to  have  respect  to  persons," 


1  Hint,  of  Siittoti,  1701-1H70,  |i.  7  I. 

2  Iliid.,  J.,  'i.t. 

'A  ICIectioii  Si'nnon,  Allan's  Mist,  of  ("lichiisfDnl,  p.  :{. 

4  IHsl.  of  Snttoti,  ITO-I-IHO'J. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  23 

especially  inquiring  ''what  charges  they  now  bear,  and 
what  they  are  likely  to  do  in  the  future," — a  worldly 
compromise  with  those  of  the  teapot  and  silver-spoon  brigade 
against  which  Mr.  Jonathan  Sibley  deemed  it  his  duty  "to 
dissent."  To  appease  the  rising  indignation,  Mr.  John 
Whipple,  and  Mr.  Sibley,  with  others,  were  made  a  "comitty  " 
to  consider  the  matter,  dispose  of  the  pews  righteously, 
assigning  to  each  man  his  place,  the  pews  not  to  be  longer 
than  four  or  five  feet,  nor  deeper  than  about  four,  the  "proper 
persons  "  to  be  seated  therein.  Upon  the  report  of  the  "com- 
itty"  all  things  were  satisfactorily  adjusted,  John  "Whipple's 
pew  being  "5  foot  3  inches  long  and  5  foot  6  inches  deep," 
Jonathan  Sibley's  "about  the  same,"  Joseph  Sibley's  "4  foot  3 
inches  long,"  and  John  Sibley's  "3  foot  3  inches  long;" — and 
so  the  "  affares  of  the  House  of  God  were  settled,"  the  church 
commending  the  diligence  and  wisdom  of  the  "  comitty."  In 
view,  however,  of  the  dangerous  tendency  to  luxury,  fulness 
of  bread,  and  pride,  it  was  deemed  "expedient  that  there  be 
a  day  of  fasting  and  i)rayer."  The  town  continuing  to  prosper, 
and  a  rearrangement  of  seats  again  becoming  necessary,  and 
social  relations  having  somewhat  changed,  another  "comitty" 
was  duly  appointed,  whose  rejiort,  although  adopted,  was 
apparently  not  as  satisfactory,  in  all  respects,  as  could,  by 
some,  have  been  desired.  It  provided  that  "In  ye  front  seat 
shall  sit  Mr.  Samuel  Sible  and  six  others.  In  ye  fifth  seat 
William  Sibly,  Benjamin  Sibly,  and  four  others.  In  ye  second 
seat,  in  side  gallery,  Joseph  Sibly  and  ye  Widoes  Rich  and 
Stockwell.  In  ye  fore  seat,  in  ye  front  gallery,  ye  Widdoe 
Mary  Sibly,  by  herself;  and  it  is  to  be  understood  that  all  ye 
wimmin  that  have  husbands  of  their  own  are  seated  equal 
with  their  own  husbands,  in  their  own  pews."^ 

If  the  pew  system  and  its  i^atrons  required  attention,  not 
less,  as  even  now  is  always  the  case,  did  the  "music  of  the 
House  of  God"  need  special  supervision.  The  young  i^eople, 
among  whom  were  "Joseph,  John,  James,  Elizabeth,"  and 
many  other  "Sibleys,"  were  somewhat  progressive  in  their 
tastes,  and  fond  of  "novelties."  The  worship,  however,  was 
simple  and  devout,  the  singing  led  by  a  precentor,  the  hymn 
or  psalm  being  "lined  out"  that  all  might  "take  part  in  this 
important  branch  of  divine  service."  The  tunes  were  few 
and  good,  it  being  "voated  that  the  old  tunes,  like  old  wine, 

1  Hist,  of  Sutton,  1704-1876,  pp.  147,  148. 


24  ANCESTEY,  LIFE   AND   TIMES   OF 

are  ye  better,  and  be  studied  and  learnt,  as  Old  Hundred 
and  Canterbury,  and  that  David  Town  and  John  Harbach  be 
helpful  in  this  service,  and  don't  set  the  tune  called  the 
34th  Psalm  which  so  many  are  offended  at;  and  the  following 
tunes,  Buckland,  Bangor,  Funeral  Thought,  New  York,  Little 
Marlborough,  Plymouth,  St.  Martins,  Colchester,  Windsor, 
Amherst,  Trinity,  and  Aurora  be  sung,  provided  there  be  no 
objection  made."  Tradition  relates  that  things  went  on  har- 
moniously till,  one  Sunday,  the  old  Puritan  blood  got  some- 
what the  better  of  the  grace  that  was  in  it,  the  singers  run- 
ning a  competing  race  while  singing,  with  Deacon  Tarrant 
while  reading,  the  hymn,  both  trying  to  see  which  of  the  two 
would  first  reach  the  end  of  the  verse,  both  landing  at  the 
same  goal,  about  the  same  time,  the  harmony  not  quite  as 
Sabbatic  as  it  should  have  been.  The  congregation  were  con- 
founded, and  the  pastor,  Mr.  Hall,  standing  up  in  the  pulpit 
and  saying  "he  had  no  hand  in  the  matter,"  was  replied  to 
by  the  free  remark  of  one  who  instantly  rose  in  the  audience, 
saying,  "David  Hall,  you  lie!  Sally,  it's  time  for  us  to  go 
home!" — the  irate  saint  henceforth  absenting  himself  from 
the  stated  means  of  grace. 

What  prominence  the  Sibleys  had  in  early  New  England 
history,  the  records  abundantly  show.  They  appear  foremost 
in  every  good  work.  As  selectmen  they  seem  to  have  been 
perpetuated  in  office  through  all  their  generations.  As  lead- 
ers in  the  church  they  are  not  less  eminent.  Their  name^ 
stand  among  the  founders  of  the  church  in  Sutton.  Their 
children  are  recorded  as  ' '  themselves  entering  into  covenant 
with  God,  their  parents  presenting  them  for  admission  to  the 
church."  It  is  Jonathan  Sibley  who  is  on  "ye  comitty"  to 
build  the  church,  and  seat  the  people.  It  is  Samuel  Sibley 
who  is  "elected  a  deacon."  It  is  John  Sibley  and  Lieutenant 
Joseph  Sibley  who,  with  others,  are  to  "  vu  the  meeting  house, 
and,  with  Keverent  Mr.  Hall,  join  in  loaning  out  the  minis- 
terial land."  It  is  Captain  Joseph  Sibley  who  "treets  with 
ye  Minister  about  ye  Deficience  in  sallery,"  recommends  "in 
vu  of  ye  general  run  of  J'rovision  and  Clothing  that  we  appre- 
hend One  Hundred  and  Fifty  pounds,"  and  "bring  ye  sallery 
up  to  ye  standard,"  and  again  sees  "whether  ye  Town  hath 
fiilfille(l  its  original  jigi'ceiiient  with  ye  minister' Coi'<ling  to  ye 
true  intent  thereof."  And  as  to  beautifying  the  town,  and 
providing  a  "public  Parke"  it  is  John  Sibley  who  appears  in 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  25 

the  foreground,  and,  because  of  his  love  for  animals  and  law- 
abiding  character,  it  is  "voated  that  John  Sibley,  Junr., 
be  a  man  to  take  care  of  ye  Dear  in  ye  Provence  that  they  be 
not  killed  Contrary  to  law."  Everywhere,  in  all  matters  of 
importance  relating  to  the  common  weal,  in  church  or  state, 
in  agriculture,  commerce,  education,  law,  finance,  order,  poli- 
tics, religion,  war  or  peace,  the  Sibleys  stand  out  as  foremost 
figures  in  the  history  of  New  England.  Their  name  is  "Le- 
gion." They  swarm.  Sutton  is  their  hive.  In  West  Sutton 
we  find  Rufus,  Nathaniel,  Frank,  Freeman,  Levins,  Almon, 
Darius,  Moses,  Sarah,  Aaron,  Gideon  Sibley.  In  the  Putnam 
Hill  district  are  Elijah,  Daniel,  Stephen,  Tarrant,  Abuer, 
Simeon,  Elihu,  Joseph,  Jonathan,  William,  Benjamin,  Samuel, 
Paul,  Reuben,  Francis,  Nahum,  Peter,  Arthur, Timothy, Oliver, 
Hannah,  Susanna,  Huldah,  Mary  Sibley.  In  the  ' '  Eight  Lots ' ' 
district  are  Jonathan  and  Timothy.  In  the  Centre  district, 
Jonas,  Jonas  L.,  Pierpont,  John  M.,  Gibbs.  Nehemiah,  Elijah, 
Caleb,  Sylvester,  Mary  Ann.  And  all  are  interlaced  and  inter- 
mingled in  a  network  of  intermarriages,  crossing  and  recross- 
ing,  with  the  Putuams  and  Whipples,  the  Bigelows  and  Sum- 
ners,  the  Pierponts  and  Morses,  the  Lelauds  and  Wheelocks, 
the  Tarrants  and  Bancrofts,  the  Dudleys  and  the  Spragues, 
and,  later  down  in  the  flow  of  their  generations,  with  the 
Wellses  and  Conklings,  the  Livingstons  and  Chases,  and  other 
influential  families;  a  remarkable  connection,  found  in  almost 
every  rank  and  profession  of  civilized  life,  artisans,  farmers, 
merchants,  business  men  of  every  description,  ministers,  elders, 
deacons,  church  wardens,  rectors,  canons,  bankers,  physi- 
cians, surgeons  in  the  army,  the  navy,  at  the  bar,  on  the  bench, 
in  academies  and  colleges,  and  in  the  halls  of  the  Conti- 
nental and  the  late  National  Congress;  graduates  of  Harvard, 
Yale,  Union,  Williams,  Dartmouth,  and  Princeton  colleges. 
Traced  through  their  affiliated  lines,  and  their  various  con- 
nections, appear  names  of  high  distinction  in  the  annals  of  the 
several  states,  and  of  the  nation;  Captains  Nathaniel  and 
Jonathan,  noted,  in  Revolutionary  times;  Samuel  Sibley,  rais- 
ing money  "to  relieve  Boston  and  Charlestowu  suffering  under 
the  Boston  Port  Bill, ' '  and ' '  reporting  approval  of  what  the  Con- 
tinental Congress  had  done;"  Colonel  Timothy  Sibley,  securing 
"five  thousand  pounds  sterling,"  after  the  battles  of  Lexing- 
ton and  Concord,  "to  pay  the  Continental  men  sent  to  Rhode 
Island,"  and,  after  the  close  of  the  war,  "incorporating  his 


26  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,   AND   TIMES    OF 

own  estate,  with  those  of  others,  into  the  First  Congregational 
Society  of  Sutton;"  Hon.  Jonas  Sibley;  Jonas  L.  Sibley,  Esq., 
''a  man  of  fine  presence,  pre-eminently  a  public-spirited  man, 
a  true  lawyer,  with  a  docket  of  cases  no  less  than  eighty  for  a 
single  term  of  court;"  Hon.  Mark  H.  Sibley  .of  Canandaigua,  a 
man  of  rare  national  distinction;^  Hon.  Sumner  Cole  of  Sut- 
ton; Eev.  John  Langdon  Sibley,  librarian  of  Harvard,  and 
full  of  literary  labor;  Rev.  J.  Willard  Morse  of  Sutton,  "one 
of  the  finest  of  men,  and  ablest  of  preachers,"  a  son  of  Huldah 
Sibley,  "one  of  the  noblest  women  of  the  West,"  and  cousin 
of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley;  Chief  Justice  Solomon  Sibley  of 
Detroit;  the  celebrated  Dr.  Henry  Wells,  "Henry  of  Mon- 
tague," a  young  graduate  bearing  away  the  honors  of  Prince- 
ton, re-honored  at  Yale  and  Dartmouth  with  two  separate 
degrees;  the  not  less  distinguished  Dr.  John  Sibley  of  Natchi- 
toches, Louisiana;  Oscar  E.  Sibley  of  Albany,  New  York;  the 
brilliant  lawyer,  and  monumental  benefactor  in  the  cause  of 
education,  Hiram  Sibley  of  Rochester,  New  York;  George  E. 
Sibley,  Esq.,  of  New  York  City;  Brevet  Major  General  Caleb 
Sibley  of  the  United  States  Army,  a  first  cousin  of  Henry 
Hastings  Sibley.  To  these  must  be  added  the  names  of  Septi- 
mus Sibley,  M.  D.,  London,  England,  Hon.  Henry  Hopkins 
Sibley  of  St.  Louis,  and  Major  General  Henry  Hopkins  Sib- 
ley of  the  Confederate  Army,  with  the  distinguished  name 
of  Josiah  Sibley  of  Augusta,  Georgia,  at  whose  recent  decease 
it  was  said,  "he  was  one  of  those  temperate,  liberty-lov- 
ing. Godfearing  people  whom  they,  who  rise  up  after,  call 
blessed;  the  leading  elder  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Augusta,  a  man  of  vast  wealth,  large  family,  high  public  spirit; 
among  the  most  esteemed  of  Augusta's  citizens,  giving  stabil- 
ity to  all  her  enterprises,  and  whose  name  has  been  associated 
with  Augusta's  progress  for  nearly  fifty  years,  "'an  honest 
man,  the  noblest  work  of  God.'  " 

Nor  are  we  to  forget  Richard  Sibley  of  New  York,  who 
married  Mary  Wessels,  174:4,  and  Ricliard  Sibley  of  Stamford, 
Connecticut,  who  married  Mary  Peet  of  New  York,  1792,  both 
noted  in  their  day.  The  names  of  Huldah,  Elizabeth,  Cathe- 
rine; Whipple,  Sarah  and  Mary  Ann,  are  among  the  shining 

1  Hon.  liotxirt  ('.  Wiiillirop,  in  an  aiMn^.ss  to  the  Massaoliiisells  Historical  Societ}',  July, 
187:i,  Hpcakii  of  "  limling  on  the  walls  of  the;  mansion  of  Mis.  Groig  of  Canandaigua,  widow 
of  Hon.  John  (ireig,  tlie  porlraitH  of  the  late  Daniel  Barnanl,  Hon.  Mark  H.  Siblej',  aud 
8tephi;n  A.  Douglas,  all  iliHtingninlu'il  in  tin;  annals  of  Congress."  I'cahoil//  Mass.  llist.  Coll., 
Vol.  XIII,  p.  07. 


HON.   HENRY    HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  27 

ones  in  this  vast  connection.  Many,  indeed,  occupied  more 
humble  walks  of  life,  but  in  whatever  sphere,  it  is  recoided 
as  the  ''bright  particular  star"  that  beamed  on  the  forehead 
of  each,  so  far  as  tradition's  tongue  can  speak,  that  "personal 
integrity  was  the  family  characteristic  of  all  the  Sibleys,  from 
the  highest  to  the  lowest."  The  name  "Sibley"  became  a 
"synonym  for  justice,  honesty,  and  truth,"  not  less  than  for 
' '  benevolence  to  men. "  "It  has  never  been  known, ' '  says  the 
Rev.  J.  Langdon  Sibley,  "that  any  of  our  family  were  ever 
hanged,  however  much  they  might  have  deserved  to  be,  nor  to 
have  been  punished  for  any  civil  offense."^ 

How  thoroughly  Puritanic  this  celebrated  stock  was,  is 
seen  in  the  names  transmitted  to  the  children,  generation  after 
generation.  Adam,  the  great  progenitor,  we  do  not  find. 
But  among  the  antediluvians  Noah  stands  prominent  as  ever. 
Among  the  patriarchs  are  the  three  great  stem-fathers  of  the 
Hebrew  race,  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  among  the 
sons  of  Jacob  we  find  Reuben,  Simeon,  Levi,  Joseph,  and 
Benjamin.  Among  the  prophets  are  Moses,  Elijah,  Joel, 
Amos,  Jonas,  Nathan,  Nahum,  Jeremiah,  Isaiah,  Ezekiel, 
and  Daniel.  Among  the  old  generals  and  judges,  Joshua, 
Caleb,  Barak,  Gideon,  Jephtha,  and  Samuel.  Among  the 
kings,  David,  Solomon,  Josiah,  Hezekiah,  and  David's  fiiend 
Jonathan.  Among  the  old  reformers  and  restorers,  Ezra, 
Nehemiah,  and  Zerubbabel.  Among  the  evangelists,  Matthew 
and  Mark;  and  among  the  apostles,  Peter,  Andrew,  James, 
John,  Philip,  Thomas,  Nathaniel,  Thaddeus,  Paul;  with  their 
helpers,  Silas,  Stephen,  Timothy,  Rufus.  Nor  less  promi- 
nently do  we  find  the  names  of  Israel's  women  of  renown: 
Sarah,  Rachel,  Hannah,  Huldah,  Tamar,  Ruth,  Naomi, 
Abigail,  Azubah,  with  Esther,  and  Vashti  of  Persian  fame. 
Also,  of  New  Testament  names,  Mary,  Martha,  Elizabeth, 
Anna,  Joanna,  Susanna,  Lydia,  Dorcas,  Persis,  Eunice,  Pris- 
cilla,  Phoebe.  And,  not  to  be  utterly  restricted  to  Scrip- 
ture names,  we  find  Scripture  words  used  as  names,  Pardon 
Sibley,  Experience  Sibley,  Temperance  Sibley,  Patience  Sib- 
ley, and  Prudence  Sibley.  And,  in  memory  of  distinguished 
family  connections,  we  read  of  a  John  Pierpont,  Sumner  Cole, 
Edward  Livingston,  Franklin  Sumner,  Alexander  Hamilton, 
John  Hopkins,  John  Whipple  Sibley,  etc.,  family  nomencla- 
ture crowned  with  Darius,  Alexander,  Augustus  and  Horace, 

1  History  of  Union,  p.  499. 


28  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

Archelaus  and  Pliny,  Frederick  and  Oliver,  Luther  and  Cal- 
vin. True  to  their  environment,  heredity,  and  genealogy, 
some  curious  stories  are  told  by  the  Sibleys,  reflecting  no 
more  the  color  of  the  times  than  the  individuality  of  the  per- 
sons, impossible  to  be  of  neutral  hue.  A  stonewall  nine  miles 
in  circumference  is  a  monument  to  the  untiring  diligence  of 
Captain  Samuel  Sibley  of  West  Sutton,  and  his  utilization  of 
the  streams  of  "  Purgatory "  for  sawmill  purposes  attests  his 
shrewd  practical  character.  The  roots  of  pond  lilies,  planted 
by  another,  in  Union,  send  forth  their  stalks  and  bloom  to  this 
day.  The  same  love  of  beauty,  however,  was  not  without  its 
sterner  side.  It  is  a  well-authenticated  fact  that  the  very  man 
who  planted  these  lily  roots,  Jonathan  Sibley,  fourth  son  of 
Samuel  and  Sarah  Sibley  of  Sutton,  "whipped  his  beer  barrel 
because  it  worked  on  Sunday,  and  his  cat  because  she  caught 
a  mouse  when  he  was  at  prayers."^  While  nothing  is  re- 
corded as  to  what  punishment  was  inflicted  on  those  who  fre- 
quented the  spigot,  or  examined  the  bung,  on  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  it  is  a  breath  of  comfort,  in  our  modern  days  of  agi- 
tation upon  the  temperance  question,  to  know  that  the  original 
Pilgrims  and  children  of  the  Puritans  gave  to  the  "beer 
barrel,"  at  least,  a  sound  trouncing  for  its  Sunday  transgres- 
sions, and  that  even  mice  were  not  exempt  from  accounta- 
bility to  Colonial  Laws.  It  is  related,  further,  concerning  the 
same  Sibley,  that,  when  married  to  Sarah  Dow,  himself  short 
of  stature,  his  bride  tall  beyond  ordinary  height,  "he  stood 
upon  a  wooden  oven  lid,"  in  order  to  overcome  the  inequality 
between  them,  and  secure  the  tying  of  the  knot  more  firmly. 
The  length  of  his  bride  was,  moreover,  of  great  advantage  in 
the  days  of  their  pioneer  life.  Accustomed  to  carry,  on  horse- 
back, his  corn  to  the  mill,  nine  miles  distant,  and  bring  his 
salt  from  Exeter, — his  nearest  neighbors  three  miles  away, — 
his  practice  was  to  secure  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Benjamin  Perk- 
ins, as  protector  of  his  wife  in  "  keeping  the  bears  off  the  corn- 
patch,"  during  his  absence.  It  happened  one  moonlight 
night,  "  fair  Cynthia  smiling  over  Nature's  soft  repose,"  that  a 
terrible  crash  was  suddenly  heard  in  the  corn-stalks.  Leav- 
ing her  four  children,  and  calling  Perkins  to  her  aid,  Mrs. 
Sibley  hastened  to  the  scene  of  depredation,  Perkins  firing  his 
gun,  and  woun(li)ig,  but  not  (lisa])ling,  the  bear.  With  long- 
stepping  motion,  swiftly  puisuing  the  game,  "she  caught  the 

1  Hist,  or  Union,  p.  003. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  29 

bear,  at  last,  by  the  hind  leg,  as  he  was  climbing  over  a  log," 
and  "held  on,"  with  the  grip  of  a  tar  at  the  shij)'s  rope,  until 
Perkins  came  up  and  dispatched  the  animal  by  "cutting  his 
throat  with  a  Jack-knife."^  Such  brides  and  mothers  are 
rare  in  our  times.  It  is  also  stated  that  "the  last  wig"  worn 
in  Sutton  was  worn  by  Colonel  Timothy  Sibley,  A.  D.  1800. 

The  wife  of  Samuel  Sibley,  son  of  the  first  John  Sibley  of 
Salem,  1692,  was  clearly  a  devout  woman,  yet  of  a  keen  inven- 
tive genius,  and  withal  deeply  interested  in  devising  some 
means  whereby  to  detect  "witeAes,"  whose  love  of  Salem  as  a 
place  for  their  equestrian  broom-stick  aerial  performances 
was  proverbial.  "She  lived  in  that  unhappy  village,"  says 
her  pastor,  the  Eev.  Mr.  Paris,  "where  she  raised  the  Devil 
by  advising  John,  an  Indian,  how  to  make  '  cake.'  "  It  seems 
the  "cake"  was  made, — perhaps  rather  indigestible, — a  part 
of  which  Mrs.  Sibley  (Sister  Mary)  sent,  in  kindness,  to  the 
pastor's  mansion.  The  result  was,  according  to  the  pastor's 
testimony,  that  the  whole  village  was  "immediately  and 
sorely  vexed  with  the  Devil,  and  amazing  feats  were  done  by 
witchcraft  and  diabolical  oj)erations;  nay,  it  never  broke 
forth  to  any  considerable  extent  until  by  this  cake-making 
under  the  direction  of  our  sister  Mary;  since  which  time 
apparitions  have  been  exceeding  much;  so  that,  by  this  means, 
the  Devil  hath  been  raised  among  us,  and  when  he  shall  be 
silenced  the  Lord  only  knows;  and  that  our  dear  sister  should 
have  been  instrumental  in  such  distress  grieveth  us  much, 
and  our  godly  neighbors."  As  a  matter  of  course,  Sister  Sib- 
ley was  "suspended  from  the  communion  of  the  church," 
because  she  taught  Indian  John  how  to  make  cake.  "But, 
inasmuch  as  our  honored  sister  doth  truly  fear  the  Lord,  and 
did  what  she  did  ignorantly,  and  while  we  are  in  duty  bound 
to  protest  against  this  cake- making  as  being  indeed  a  going  to 
the  Devil  for  help  against  the  Devil, —  a  thing  contrary  to 
nature  and  God's  word, —  we  do,  nevertheless,  continue  her, 
in  our  holy  fellowship,  upon  her  serious  promise  of  future  bet- 
ter advisedness  and  caution."  Sister  Mary's  case  was  happily 
terminated.  "Brethren,"  said  the  pastor,  to  the  church,  at 
the  close  of  the  Sacrament,  on  the  Lord's  day,  "if  this  be  your 
mind,  manifest  it  now,  by  the  usual  sign  of  lifting  up  your 
hands.  The  brethren  voted  universally.  Then  the  pastor 
said,  Sister  Sibley,  if  you  are  convinced  that  you  herein  did 

1  Hist,  of  Union,  p.  503. 


30  ANCESTRY,   LIFE,   AND   TIMES   OF 

sinfully,  and  are  sorry  for  it,  just  let  us  hear  now  a  word  from 
your  own  mouth.  And  Sister  Sibley  did  manifest  sweetly, 
to  the  satisfaction  of  all,  her  error  and  grief  for  the  same. 
Brethren,  if  you  are  satisfied,  continued  the  pastor,  just 
testify  by  lifting  your  hands.  And  a  universal  vote  was  had, 
none  excei)ting."^ 

In  our  days  of  modern  progress  and  religious  culture,  we 
affect  indignation  and  greet  with  contempt  what  we  call  the 
"superstitions  of  the  Puritans."  It  would  be  more  to  our 
credit,  could  we  ever  attain  to  their  downright  earnestness  in 
religion,  fear  of  God,  and  respect  for  his  word,  notwithstand- 
ing their  mistakes  in  many  things.  In  language  the  most 
express  he  had  legislated,  saying,  "Thou  shalt  not  suffer  a 
witch  to  live,"  Exod.  22:18.  He  sent  a  king  of  Israel  into  fet- 
ters and  a  dungeon,  because  he  "used  witchcraft  and  ^ealt 
with  a  familiar  spirit,  and  with  a  wizard,"  2  Chron.  38:6,  that 
"sorcery"  and  "witchcraft"  which  an  apostle  has  placed 
among  the  "works  of  the  flesh,"  and  whose  doom  is  "the  lake 
of  fire."  Gal.  5:20,  Rev.  21:8.  Before  condemning  the  Puri- 
tans too  roundly,  it  were  well  to  remember  that,  not  only  the 
Witch  of  Endor,  the  Gadarene  demoniac,  and  the  Pythoness 
who  followed  Paul,  and  ancient  history,  sacred  and  profane, 
attest  the  reality  of  the  commerce  of  "evil  siDirits"  with  man- 
kind, but  that,  from  the  fifteenth  to  the  seventeenth  century, 
their  influence  overspread  all  Europe.  Already,  in  1317, 
Pope  John  XXII.  complained  that  his  courtiers  had  "  made  a 
compact  with  hell,  demanding  of  the  demons  speech  and  an- 
swer." Papal  bulls  were  issued  in  1404,  1448,  against  "the 
increase  of  sorcery,  and  seeking  to  the  dead."  In  the  fifteenth 
century,  not  only  the  Maid  of  Orleans  was  burned  as  a  witch, 
by  order  of  the  Earl  of  Bedford,  but  100,000  in  Germany,  1,500 
in  Switzerland,  1,000  at  Como,  and  900  females  at  Lorraine, 
suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  executioner,  for  witchcraft,  the 
jails  being  insufficient  to  hold,  and  the  judges  too  few  to  try, 
them.  In  the  sixteenth  century,  Bishop  Jewell  appealed  to 
(.ln(Mtu  J'^lizabeth  to  enforce  the  laws,  severe  as  they  were.  No 
less  than  30,000  were  executed  in  England,  among  whom  were 
the  Maid  of  Kent,  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  the  Duchess  of 
Glouc<;.ster,  and  Lord  Hungei-ford.  Bibles  were  burned  as  a 
])l('dg(!  of  fealty  to  the  new  faith,  and  the  truths  of  Christian- 
ity l)ega.n  to  be  rejected  as  ii-reconcilable  with  the  new  revela- 

1  .Muss.  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  XI,  pii.  •5:^0,  Ifil. 


HON.  HENRY    HASTINGS  SIKLEY,  LL.D.  81 

tions  made.  It  was  the  same  influence  that  afiiicted  the  Puri- 
tans of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  demonic  spiritism  that 
afflicts  our  own  age,  to  an  extent  not  realized,  a  form  of  satanic 
manifestation  of  which  it  was  predicted,  that,  "in  the  last 
times,  some  shall  depart  from  the  faith,  giving  heed  to  sedu- 
cing spirits,  and  doctrines  of  demons,  speaking  lies,  in  hyjioc- 
risy,"  1  Tim.  4:1.  Witchcraft  is  no  unsolved  phenomenon, 
and  modern  media  conversing  with  "the  spirits  of  the  dead," 
are  but  the  reappearance  "of  Bessie  Dunlop  interviewing 
Thomas  Eeid,  killed  in  battle,  and  of  Miss  Throgmorton  speak- 
ing with  Pluck  Hardman,  deceased."^  We  must  give  the 
Puritans  the  benefit  of  this.  The  Salem  pastor,  were  he  liv- 
ing, would  rebuke  our  modern  necromaucing  with  familiar 
spirits.  As  for  "Sister  Mary,"  her  awful  crime  was  that  of 
teaching  Indian  John  how  to  make  cake,  wholly  indigestible. 
That  was  certainly  an  atrocious  offense,  more  due,  however, 
to  the  character  of  the  ingredients,  the  condition  of  the  fire,  or 
want  of  experience,  than  to  the  immediate  influence  of  Satan, 
and  all  historians  of  the  circumstance  rejoice  at  her  escape,  so 
easily,  from  a  sentence  which  only  was  averted  by  the  good- 
ness of  those  whose  love  of  justice  and  tenderness  of  heart 
were  equal  to  their  fear  of  God  and  hatred  of  the  Devil.  ^  Say 
what  we  may  of  these  Godfearing  men  and  cake- making 
women,  who  whipped  their  beer  casks  for  working  on  Sunday 
and  punished  their  cats  for  catching  mice  during  prayer,  and 
"raised  the  Devil  in  Salem,"  they  were  yet  the  stock  whose 
offspring  were  the  founders  of  our  institutions,  the  bulwark  of 
our  civil  and  religious  liberties,  and  whose  descendants  now 
tread  the  continent  from  Atlantic  to  Pacific  and  from  the 
Southern  Gulf  to  the  Frozen  Zone.  It  was  of  them  Berkeley 
sang,  in  his  ode  on  the  "Planting  of  Arts  and  Learning  in 
America; "  a  race  of  men 

' '  Not  such  as  Europe  breeds  in  her  decay, 
But  as  she  bred  when  fresh  and  young, 
When  heavenly  flame  did  animate  her  clay, 
By  future  ages  to  be  sung. 
"Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way, 
The  first  four  acts  already  past, 
A  fifth  shall  close  the  drama  of  the  day, 
Time's  noblest  offspring  is  the  last." 

1  See  Sir  Walter  Scott's  "  Witchcrnfl  and  Demonology"  passim. 

2  See  3  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  170;  Drake's  Hist,  and  Geneal.  Register,  Vol.  XI,  pp. 
133-135 ;  Fleet's  Annals  of  Salem,  Vol.  II,  p  476 ;  Savage's  Geneal.  Hist,  of  New  England,  Vol. 
IV,  p.  94. 


32  ANCESTRY,    LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

The  Sibleys  have  a  proud  record  in  Colonial  and  Eevolu- 
tionary  times.  In  civil  life,  they  appear  continuously  as  select- 
men, assessors,  moderators  of  council,  lawyers,  representa- 
tives, and  physicians  in  one  unbroken  stream,  ever  widening 
and  deepening  as  it  flows  down  to  the  present  day.  In  mili- 
tary life  they  seem  to  be  ubiquitous,  holding  every  rank,  from 
the  lowest  to  the  highest,  save  that  of  sui^reme  commander  of 
the  forces  of  the  nation:  jjrivate,  drummer-boy,  ensign,  cor- 
poral, sergeant,  captain,  major,  lieutenant,  colonel,  general, 
major  general,  promoted,  brevetted,  and  praised  by  legislature 
and  by  Congress  for  their  meritorious  services.  From  1755  to 
1761  we  find  the  names  of  Ensign  Jonathan,  Drummer-Boy  Eli- 
jah, Captain  John,  Captain  James,  the  son-in-law  of  the  re- 
nowned General  Israel  Putnam,  and  Privates  John,  Jonathan, 
Elihu,  David,  Joseph,  Sr.,  Joseph,  Jr.,  father  and  son,  side  by 
side  with  shouldered  musket  in  the  same  company.  William, 
Sr.,  William,  Jr.,  Stephen,  Jonas,  Samuel,  Henry,  and  Frank. 
In  the  Eevolutionary  Army  it  is  Captain  Nathaniel,  Captain 
Jonathan,  Captain  Solomon,  Corporal  David,  Colonel  Timo- 
thy, and  Privates  Daniel,  David,  Eichard,  Stephen,  John, 
William,  Joseph,  Abner,  and  others  too  many  to  name. 
Among  the  "Minute  Men"  who  marched  "on  the  Alarm" 
from  Sutton  to  Concord,  August  19,  1775,  when  Putnam  left 
his  plow  in  the  furrow,  and  Paul  Eevere  struck  fire  from  the 
hoofs  of  his  bounding  steed,  and  the  "first  blood  for  independ- 
ence" was  shed,  were  Joseph,  Daniel,  Elihu,  Gideon,  Peter, 
Samuel,  Tarrant,  William,  Jonathan,  John.  At  Ticonderoga 
they  fought  under  Colonel  Jonathan  Holmes  of  the  Fifth 
Massachusetts,  brother-in-law  of  Joseph  Sibley.  From  the 
days  of  the  infamous  "Stamp  Act,"  1764,  passed  by  Parlia- 
ment to  tax  unrepresented  men  for  revenue,  and  support  the 
crown  in  its  purpose  to  oppress,  down  to  the  time  of  the 
"Boston  Port  Bill,"  and  thence  to  the  close  of  the  war  for 
independence,  the  Sibleys  were  among  the  first,  in  the  ranks 
of  the  army,  on  the  sea,  in  Colonial  councils,  and  in  the  Con- 
tinental Congress,  battling  for  freedom,  serving  their  coun- 
try, enduring  all  manner  of  self-sacrifice,  and  earning  a  name 
that  will  not  pass  away. 

The  immediate  ancestor  of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  was 
Chief  Justice  Solomon  Sibley  of  Detroit,  Michigan,  born  in 
the  old  "Henry  Sibley  Stockwell  place,"  Sutton,  Massachu- 
setts, Octob(a-7,  1769,  six  years  before  the  Eevolutionary  War. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  33 

Endowed  with  rare  intellectual  gifts,  he  entered  the  legal 
profession,  after  the  completion  of  his  academic  education, 
having  studied  law  under  William  Hastings  of  Boston,  an 
eminent  member  of  the  Massachusetts  bar.  Eising  rapidly  in 
distinction,  he  came  to  Marietta,  Ohio,  1795,  in  the  twenty- 
sixth  year  of  his  age;  thence  removing  to  Cincinnati,  1796, 
and  forming  a  law  iDartnership  with  Judge  Burnet,  but  finally 
making  Detroit,  Michigan,  his  home,  where,  January  15,  1799, 
ho  was  elected  as  the  "first  delegate,  from  Wayne  county,  to 
the  first  territorial  legislature  of  the  Northwest,  met  at  Chilli- 
cothe,  Ohio."  He  was  married  to  Sarah  Whipple  Sproat, 
October,  1802,  at  Marietta.  In  the  same  year  he  drafted  and 
introduced  into  the  legislature  the  act  to  incorporate  the 
city  of  Detroit,  and  was  voted  the  freedom  of  the  city  for  his 
ability  and  success  in  securing  the  passage  of  the  act.  In 
1806  he  became  mayor  of  the  city,  by  appointment  from  Gov- 
ernor William  Hull,  with  the  whole  x^ower  of  the  corporation 
vested  in  himself,  the  law  being  that  "every  act  or  bill  passed 
by  both  chambers,  before  it  becomes  a  law,  shall  be  presented 
to  the  mayor  for  his  approval,  and  if  not  approved,  shall  be 
returned  to  the  chamber  where  it  is  passed,  there  to  remain 
in  statu  quo,  until  the  Judgment-day ,  icithout  further  reconsidera- 
tion.^'''^ In  1814  he  was  auditor  of  public  accounts,  and  re- 
mained so  three  years.  In  1815,  when,  under  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  Hon.  Lewis  Cass,  the  city  gained  control  of  its 
local  affairs,  he  was  one  of  five  trustees  of  the  city,  apjiointed 
by  the  governor,  as  guardians  of  the  city,  and  was,  moreover, 
aidde-camp  to  the  governor  as  commander-in-chief  of  the 
military  forces  of  the  territory.  In  1817  he  was  United 
States  Commissioner,  in  connection  with  General  Cass,  to 
treat  with  the  Indians  for  territory  now  included  in  the  State 
of  Michigan.  In  1818  he  was  elected  a  director  in  the  Bank 
of  Michigan.  In  1820  he  was  sent  to  the  United  States  Con- 
gress as  the  representative  of  the  Territory  of  Michigan.  In 
1821  he  became  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan, then  opened  in  the  city  of  Detroit.  In  1824-1837  he  sat 
upon  the  judicial  bench  of  the  territory,  his  court  being 
always  opened  in  the  old  semi-military  style,  "Attention! 
Attention,  the  whole!  Silence  on  penalty!  Oyez!  Oyez! 
Give  ear  to  the  cause  you  wish  to  be  heard!"  and  was  the 
chief  justice  from  1827-1837.     Under  the  ordinance  of  1787, 

1.  Farmer's  Hist,  of  Detroit,  p.  134. 
3 


34  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

whereby  the  governor  and  territorial  judges  are  made  the 
legislative  power,  he  became,  after  reaching  the  bench,  a 
member  of  the  legislative  body  that  met  at  Marietta  and  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio,  and  afterward  at  Detroit.  Fond  of  horticul- 
ture, it  is  related,  and  the  story  is  confirmed  by  the  personal 
testimony  of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley,  that,  in  1827,  he  "grew 
a  pear  seven  and  one-half  inches  long,  fourteen  and  one-half 
inches  in  circumference,  and  weighing  thirty  ounces."^  For 
more  than  fifty  years  he  was  one  of  Detroit's  most  influential 
and  public-spirited  citizens,  and  died,  April  4, 1846,  universally 
lamented.  One  of  the  main  streets  of  the  city  bears  his  name. 
In  honor  of  his  memory,  the  members  of  the  bar  of  Detroit, 
and  officials  of  the  various  courts,  together  with  the  first  citi- 
zens of  the  place,  assembled  to  express  in  fitting  words  their 
esteem  of  his  noble  character,  and  sad  regret  at  his  demise, 
and,  as  a  testimonial  of  their  sincerity,  his  legal  brethren 
wore  the  badge  of  mourning  the  usual  time. 

Eecorded  memorials  of  his  merit  are  numerous  and  flatter- 
ing. Mrs.  Ellett  speaks  of  Mr.  Sibley  as  "a  young  lawyer  of 
high  standing." 2  Judge  Burnet  says  "he  was  one  of  the 
most  talented  men  in  the  house  of  representatives,  possessed 
of  a  sound  mind,  improved  by  liberal  education,  and  a  stabil- 
ity of  character  that  commanded  general  respect,  and  seemed 
to  have  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  fellow  members."^ 
The  Hon.  George  C.  Bates,  one  of  Detroit's  most  brilliant 
men,  said  of  him,  when  extolling  his  judicial  qualities,  "He 
was  a  most  venerable  judge,  careful  and  patient,  and  deciding 
only  after  the  most  mature  deliberation.  His  long  gray  hair, 
projecting  eye-brows,  and  heavy  set  jaws,  gave  him  very 
much  the  air  of  Chief  Justice  Shaw  of  Massachusetts,  whom 
Choate  compared  to  the  natives'  view  of  their  Indian  god."^ 
The  late  Samuel  Williams  of  Cincinnati,  father  of  J.  Fletcher 
Williams,  librarian  of  the  Minnesota  State  Historical  Society, 
in  a  memorial  of  ex- Governor  Tiffin  of  Ohio,  written  years 
ago,  mentions  a  visit  from  Judge  Sibley  to  Dr.  Tiffin,  then 
surveyor  general  at  Chillicothe,  in  1816,  to  talk  over  the 
scenes  of  the  territorial  legislature  of  1799,  of  which  both  had 
been  members.     Mr.  Williams,  who  was  Tifliu's  chief  clerk. 


1  rarmer'fl  Hist,  of  Detroit,  p  15. 

2  Pioneer  Women  of  tlie  West,  p  217. 
.'i  History  of  Sutton,  1704-1870,  p  720. 
4  Ibid.,  p  720,  721. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  35 

was  usually  present  when  they  conversed  over  the  exciting 
scenes  of  their  legislative  career,  and  related  that  Dr.  Tiffin 
remarked  at  one  time,  ''In  our  debates,  Mr.  Sibley,  I  wished 
a  thousand  times  that  I  could  have  the  same  calm,  philo- 
sophic, and  imperturbable  spirit  which  you  possessed.  I  saw 
and  felt  the  advantage  it  gave  you  in  debate."  "And  I," 
laughingly  replied  the  Judge,  "well  remember.  Doctor,  how 
often  I  wished  that  I  could  infuse  into  my  remarks  the  same 
ardor  of  feeling  which  you  displayed  in  yours!  "^  This  inci- 
dent illustrates  one  of  the  prominent  traits  of  character  in 
Judge  Sibley  which  made  him  so  safe  a  jurist,  and  so  wise  a 
counselor,  and  has  been  perpetuated  and  reflected  in  the  per- 
son of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  not  less  conspicuously.  The 
brothers  of  Judge  Sibley  were  three,  viz.,  Eeuben,  Jonathan, 
Nathaniel.  The  sisters  were  five,  viz.,  Phoebe,  Martha,  Han- 
nah, Euth,  Huldah.  The  sons  of  Judge  Sibley  were  four  in 
number.  Colonel  Ebenezer  Sproat  Sibley  of  the  regular  army, 
educated  at  West  Point  and  bearing  away  the  honors  of  his 
class,  Henry  Hastings,  Alexander  Hamilton,  and  Frederic  B. 
The  daughters  were  live,  Catherine  W.,  Catherine  Whipple, 
Mary  S.,  Augusta  Ann,  Sarah  Alexandrine.  Catherine  W. 
died  in  infancy.  Catherine  Whipple  married  C.  C.  Trow- 
bridge of  Detroit,  both  now  deceased.  Mary  S.  married 
Charles  Adams  of  Detroit,  both  now  deceased.  Augusta  Ann 
married  James  Armstrong  of  Detroit,  both  now  deceased. 
Alexander  Hamilton  married  Marie  Louise  Miller,  and  is 
deceased,  his  widow  and  family  surviving,  Frederic  B.  and 
Sarah  Alexandrine  are  unmarried.  Henry  Hastings  married 
Sarah  Steele  of  Minnesota,  who  died  May  21,  1869. 

The  mother  of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  was  Sarah  Whipple 
Sproat,  wife  of  Judge  Solomon  Sibley.  Mrs  Solomon  Sibley, 
born  in  Providence,  Ehode  Island,  January  28,  1782,  was  the 
only  daughter  of  Colonel  Ebenezer  Sproat,  a  Eevolutionary 
soldier,  who  married  Catherine  Whipple,  daughter  of  Commo- 
dore Abraham  Whipple,  who  married  Sarah  Hopkins,  sister 
of  Stephen  Hopkins,  governor  of  Ehode  Island,  one  of  the  sign- 
ers of  the  "Declaration  of  Independence."  Mrs.  Sibley's  par- 
ents and  grandparents  were  pioneers  of  both  Ohio  and  Michi- 
gan, and  achieved  for  themselves  an  imperishable  name  for 
their  devotion  to  the  cause  of  human  liberty,  their  self-sacrifices 
and  endurance  of  hardships,  toils,  and  dangers,  in  the  midst  of 

1  History  of  Seneca  County,  Ohio,  by  W  Lang,  lS80,-p.  201. 


36  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

Eevolutionaiy  times,  the  War  of  1812,  and  various  Indian  wars 
connected  with  the  settlement  of  the  Northwest  Territory. 
From  Abraham  Whipple  and  Sarah  Hopkins  came  Catherine 
Whipple.  From  Ebenezer  Sproat  and  Catherine  Whipple 
came  Sarah  Whipple  Sproat.  From  Solomon  Sibley  and 
Sarah  Whipple  Sproat  came  Henry  Hastings  Sibley. 

Of  Commodore  Whipi^le,  born  1733,  the  maternal  great- 
grandfather of  Henry  Hastings,  Revolutionary  history  has 
preserved  a  thrilling  memorial.  He  was  the  son  of  John 
Whipple,  the  companion  of  Roger  Williams,  and  looms  into 
view  first  of  all  as  the  night  organizer  of  a  little  fleet  of  row- 
boats  to  capture  the  British  revenue  sloop  Gaspee,  of  eight 
guns,  stationed  in  Narragansett  bay,  to  enforce  the  British 
tax  upon  goods  and  search  every  vessel  scudding  between 
K'ewport  and  Providence.  June  10, 1772,  the  Gaspee,  chasing 
the  Newport  packet,  grounded,  by  blunder  of  the  i^ilot,  upon 
a  spit  of  land  opx)Osite  Namquit  iDoint,  the  packet  escaping 
capture.  Captain  Whipple  at  once  organized  an  expedition 
of  eight  longboats,  and  pulling  away  from  the  shore,  rowlocks 
and  oars  muffled,  a  captain  at  each  tiller,  himself  in  the  lead, 
with  paving-stones,  boulders,  clubs,  a  few  muskets,  some  ball 
and  a  powder-horn  or  two,  made  for  his  Majesty's  vessel,  at 
about  ten  and  one-half  o'clock  in  the  night.  Silence  was 
enjoined,  and  the  boats  aj^proached  the  sloop.  When  within 
sixty  yards  the  sentinel  hailed,  "Who  comes  there?"  No 
answer.  Again,  "  Who  comes  there  !"  No  answer.  A  third 
time,  and  now  from  the  mouth  of  the  British  commander  him- 
self, who  had  mounted  the  gunwale,  "Who  comes  there? 
Stand  off!  You  can't  come  aboard!"  Then  the  voice  of 
Whipiile  rang  out,  in  stentorian  tones,  through  the  stillness  of 
the  night, ' '  I  am  sheriff  of  Kent  county.  I  have  a  warrant 
to  arrest  you.  Surrender,  or  I'll  ma,ke  you!"  "Hand  me 
that  musket,"  said  one  of  the  boat's  crew  to  another,  and  in- 
stantly a  shot  brought  the  British  captain,  mortally  wounded, 
down  to  the  deck.  By  tliis  time  the  boats  were  alongside,  the 
brave  Rhode  Islanders  boarded  the  vessel,  hurled  their  pav- 
ing-stones, captured  the  crew,  and  api)lying  the  torch  to  the 
vessel,  sailed  liomeward,  the  bright  flames  of  the  burning 
sloop  spreading  and  mounting  aloft  in  vivid  contrast  with  the 
IflackncsH  of  night  around  them.  History  has  baptized 
this  first  naval  engagement  as  '■Hhe  Lexington  of  the  8eas.^' 
Sir  James  Wallace,  loyal,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  his  Majesty, 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  37 

George  II.,  aud  learning  who  led  the  assault  on  the  Gaspee, 
sent,  as  admiral  of  his  Majesty's  fleet,  the  following  note  to 
Captain  Whipple: 

"i'ojt,  Abraham  Whipple,  on  the  tenth  of  June,  1772,  burned  his  Blajesiy^s 
vessel,  the  Gaspee,  and  I  will  hang  you  at  the  yard-arm. 

"James  Wallace." 

To  which  Whipple  promptly  replied,  with  laconic  glee: 

"  Sir  James  Wallace,  Sir:    Always  catch  a  man  before  you  hang  him ! 

"Abraham  Whipple." ^ 

This  incident  shows  the  kind  of  stuff  from  which  Henry 
Hastings  Sibley  came,  on  his  maternal  great-grandfather's 
side.  The  claim  of  Captain  Whipple  to  the  honor  of  firing 
the  first  gun  of  the  Revolution,  upon  the  water,  is  conceded  by 
all  critical  historians.  ^  His  little  fleet  of  eight  boats  was  the 
"embryo  squadron  "  of  the  Continental  Navy.  To  what  emi- 
nence he  rose,  how  great  a  commander  he  was,  what  rare 
exploits  he  performed,  what  amusing  stories  are  told  of  his 
tricks  at  sea;  surrendering  by  dropping  under  the  stern  of 
the  enemy  to  discharge  a  broadside  into  the  cabin,  and  then 
escaping  with  the  wind;  chasing  a  powerful  French  war-ship 
by  setting  up  handspikes  crowded  together  along  the  sides  of 
his  vessel,  with  sailor  caps  on  their  heads,  running  out  Qua- 
ker-guns, so  driving  the  foe  in  flight  before  him;  what  various 
and  costly  prizes  he  took  from  England,  France,  and  Spain, 
and  the  Barbary  States,  and  what  honor  he  put  on  the  Ameri- 
can flag;  these,  and  more  of  like  interest,  are  narrated  in  "Hil- 
dreth's  Lives  of  the  Early  Settlers  of  Ohio."  ^  At  the  close  of 
the  war  he  was  the  first  to  unfurl  the  "  Stars  and  Stripe?  "  on 
the  waters  of  the  Thames  in  face  of  the  parliament  house.  After 
coming  to  Marietta,  Ohio,  he  built  for  himself  a  square-rigged 
vessel  on  the  Ohio  river,  which,  loaded  with  flour,  he  sailed 
down  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  landing  his  cargo  safe  at  Ha- 
vanna.  He  was  a  great  and  honored  commander,  spending  his 
whole  fortune  in  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  enduring  all 
manner  of  privation,  and  lavishing  his  bounty,  never  repaid, 
upon  the  brave  men  under  his  care.     After  a  short  illness,  he 


1  Hildreth's  Lives  of  the  Early  Settlers  of  Ohio,  p.  129  ;  Arnold's  Hist,  of  State  of  Rhode 
Island,  Vol.  II,  p.  351 ;  Abbott's  Blue  Jackets  of  1776,  p.  44. 

2  "  To  Captain  Abraham  Whipple  is  due  the  honor  of  discharging  the  first  gun  upon  the 
ocean,  at  any  part  of  his  Majesty's  navy  in  the  American  Revolution."  "  The  Lexington  of 
the  Seas  was  the  affair  of  June  10, 1772."    Arnold's  Hist.  St.  R.  I.,  Vol.  II,  pp.  312,  351. 

3  Hildreth's  Lives  of  the  Early  Settlers  of  Ohio,  pp.  120-164. 


38  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

died  at  Marietta,  Ohio,  May  29,  1819,  aged  eighty-five  years, 
where  he  and  his  wife  lie,  side  by  side,  in  the  beautiful  mound- 
square  of  that  town.  On  his  tombstone  is  the  epitaph  written 
by  the  Hon.  Paul  Fearing: 

Sacred 

To  THE  Memory  of 

Commodore  Abraham  Whipple, 

Whose  Name,  Skill,  and  Courage 

Will  ever  remain  the  Pride  and  Boast  of  his  Country. 

In  the  late  Revolution  he  was  the 

first  on  the  seas  to  hurl  defiance  at  proud  Britain,  gallantly 

leading  the  way  to  wrest  from  the  Mistress  of  the  Ocean  her 

scepter,  and  there  to  wave  the  star-spangled  banner. 

He  also  CONDUCTED  TO  SEA   THE   FIRST 

SQUARE-RIGGED  VESSEL   EVER   BUILT  ON   THE   OHIO, 

OPENING  TO   COMMERCE 

RESOURCES   BEYOND   CALCULATION. 

Of  Colonel  Ebenezer  Sproat,  the  maternal  grandfather  of 
Henry  Hastings  Sibley,  the  record  is  no  less  honorable.  Unlike 
Commodore  Whipple,  who  was  short  and  stout,  Colonel  Sproat 
was  a  man  of  perfect  physical  proportion  and  commanding 
personal  presence,  being  six  feet  four  inches  in  height.  He 
was  born  in  Middleborough,  Massachusetts,  1752,  under  the 
reign  of  King  George  II.,  and  was  the  son  of  Colonel  Ebenezer 
Sproat,  a  yeoman  of  large  estate,  of  stately  mien,  and  over- 
shadowing influence.  He  entered  the  American  Army  as  cap- 
tain of  a  company,  rose  to  the  rank  of  post  major  in  the  Tenth 
Massachusetts,  and  thence  to  the  colonelcy  of  one  of  the  four 
regiments  in  Glover's  brigade  at  Providence,  Rhode  Island, 
being  tlie  tallest  man  in  the  whole  brigade.  He  was  in  the 
battle  of  Trenton,  Monmouth,  and  Princeton,  and  so  attracted 
the  regards  of  General  Steuben,  that  he  was  attached,  at  once, 
to  his  staff  as  inspector  of  brigade.  He  conducted  the  court- 
martial  that  tried  and  sentenced  to  death  the  ringleaders  of 
the  mutineers  in  the  New  Jersey  line,  in  1781,  a  painful  mili- 
tary necessity  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  At  the  close 
of  the  war,  he  married  Catherine  Whipple,  the  daughter  of 
the  celebrated  commodore.  His  history,  like  that  of  others,  is 
associated  witli  the  grandest  piece  of  legislation  in  the  annals 
of  the  Ameiicaii  Coiign^ss.  Through  the  labors  of  Jay,  Adams, 
and  Franklin,  effecting  a  treaty  with  Great  Britain  in  1782, 
the  United  States  acquired  an  undisputed  title  to  the  whole 
Northwestern  Territory,  i.  e.  the  entire  region  ceded  by  Vir- 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  39 

ginia  to  the  United  States,  extending  from  the  Ohio  river  to 
the  lakes,  and  from  Pennsylvania  to  the  Mississippi.  After 
various  abortive  efforts  to  provide  a  government  for  this 
domain,  an  ordinance  was  reported  to  Congress,  May  9,  1787, 
which,  passed  to  its  second  reading  on  the  same  day,  was 
ordered  to  be  read  the  third  time  the  day  following.  It  never 
teas  read,  but  was  referred  to  a  "new  committee  "  of  Southern 
men,  who,  after  two  months,  reported  the  ordinance  amended, 
with  a  present,  absolute,  and  perpetual  prohibition  of  slavery 
in  the  territory,  and  in  all  states  to  be  formed  therefrom,  July  10, 
1787.  This  amended  ordinance  wa^  read  the  second  time,  July 
12, 1787,  and  July  13,  1787,  was  victoriously  and  unanimously 
passed,  "every  Southern  state  and  every  Southern  man  voting 
for  it."  It  was  the  "Great  Ordinance  of  1787,"  whereby  the 
whole  Northwest  Territory  was  forever  consecrated  to  freedom. 
The  curious  problem  for  the  historian  has  been,  why  was  the 
ordinance  of  May  9, 1787,  so  suddenly  arrested,  hindered  from 
its  third  reading;  why  did  two  mouths  of  ominous  silence 
elapse,  under  the  new  committee,  and  why  was  the  celebrated 
ordinance  of  July  13,  1787,  so  suddenly  and  unanimously 
passed?  The  answer  to  these  questions  associates  with  it  the 
name  of  Colonel  Ebenezer  Sproat,  and  others,  who  are  justly 
styled  in  history  the  real  authors  of  that  great  instrument  for 
the  government  of  the  Northwest,  and  to  whose  provisions 
Henry  Hastings  Sibley  appealed  in  defense  of  the  rights  of  the 
people  of  Minnesota,  when  contending  in  Congress  for  his 
seat  as  a  delegate  from  the  residuary  Territory  of  Wisconsin. 
After  the  Eevolutionary  "War  was  over,  two  hundred  and 
eighty-five  veteran  Revolutionary  officers,  stationed  at  New- 
burgh,  New  York,  impoverished  by  the  loss  of  all  things  for 
their  country's  sake,  appealed  to  Congress,  in  1783,  asking  that 
lands  might  be  assigned  them  in  the  Western  wilds,  as  homes 
for  themselves  and  their  children,  and  be  located  between  the 
Ohio  and  the  lakes.  Of  these,  one  hundred  and  fifty-five 
were  from  Massachusetts,  and  among  them  Colonel  Ebenezer 
Sproat.  In  1786,  the  same  officers,  with  others,  formed,  in 
Boston,  what  is  known  as  the  "  Ohio  Company,"  not  for  pur- 
poses of  speculation  such  as  another  Ohio  company  indulged, 
but  for  purjjoses  of  home  settlement,  and  May  9,  1787,  sent  to 
Congress  a  "■memorial,^''  offering  to  buy  1,500,000  acres  of  the 
public  domain  for  such  purposes,  desiring  "to  organize  a 
colony  westward  of  the  Ohio,"  "to  be  hereafter  admitted  as  a 


40  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

state,"  and  asking  Congress  ''to  frame  a  government  for 
them."  Washington  had  suggested  the  whole  plan.  The 
excitement  was  great.  Eevolutionary  heroes  stood  at  the  door 
of  Congress,  and,  homeless,  asked  a  resting  place  for  them- 
selves and  their  children.  It  was  that  ^'•memoriaV  that  arrested 
the  third  reading  of  the  ordinance  of  May  9,  1787,  and  led  to  the 
sudden  adoption  of  the  "  Great  Ordinance  of  July  13,  1787."  The 
memorialists  had  suffered  all  for  their  country,  and  were  poor. 
They  were  heroes,  law  and  order  men,  loving  civil  and  reli- 
gious liberty,  and  staunch  defenders  of  the  inalienable  rights  of 
mankind.  Congress  granted  the  prayer  of  the  brave  men, 
and  the  ordinance  of  July  13,  1787,  was  passed,  an  ordinance 
that  underlaid  the  whole  subsequent  movement  of  the  Ameri- 
can nation  toward  universal  freedom,  and,  to  use  the  words  of 
Bancroft,  "shaped  the  destiny  and  character  of  the  United 
States."! 

In  1786,  disliking  the  mercantile  life  he  had  chosen,  he 
abandoned  the  same,  and  was  appointed  by  Congress  surveyor 
general  of  the  public  Western  lands,  and  in  the  fall  of  the 
same  year  was  made  surveyor  of  lands  in  Ehode  Island.  In 
1789  he  became  one  of  the  surveyors  of  the  Ohio  company, 
and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  remained  at  the  headwaters  of  the 
Ohio  building  the  "Mayflower,"  so  called  in  memory  of  the 
vessel  that  bore  the  Pilgrims  across  the  ocean  in  1620,  the 
new  "Mayflower"  designed  to  convey  the  "new  Pilgrims  of 
the  West"  to  their  new  colony  home  in  Western  wilds.  April 
7,  1789,  Colonel  Sproat,  with  his  father-in-law,  Commodore 
Whipple,  and  their  families,  and  others,  among  whom  were 
the  Putnams,  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum  river, 
anchoring  there,  pioneer  settlers,  the  first  to  plant  the  seeds 
of  civilization  in  the  great  Northwest.  The  savages,  attracted 
by  the  tall,  commanding  figure,  large  eye,  and  splendid  pres- 
ence of  Colonel  Sproat,  called  him  "Hetuck,"  or  the  "Big 
Buckeye,"  a  sobriquet  ever  since  applied  to  the  natives  of 
Ohio.  After  the  organization  of  Washington  county,  he  was 
sheriff  during  fourteen  years,  until  the  formation  of  the  state 
government,  and  in  1790  was  appointed  superintendent  of 
military  affairs  by  General  Knox,  secretary  of  war.  As  sher- 
ilf,  he  opened  the  first  county  court  ever  held  in  Ohio,  march - 


1  Bancroft's  Hist,  of  the  Constitution,  Vol.  II,  pp.  101,100;  I'itkin's  Polit.  and  Civil 
Hist.,  Vol.  11,  p.  148;  Address  liy  Israel  Ward  Andrews,  LL.D.,  ex-President  Marietta  Col- 
lege, Ohio,  Jolj  I'rinting  House,  Salem,  Massachusetts,  1887. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  41 

ing,  September  2, 1788,  with  drawn  sword  and  wand  of  office, 
in  front  of  the  judges,  governor,  and  secretary,  and  preceded 
by  a  military  escort  in  Continental  dress,  his  majesty  of  person 
and  demeanor  making  a  decided  impression  on  the  Indians, 
who  regarded  him  as  some  divinity  dropped  down  among 
them.  He  officiated  as  paymaster  to  the  Ohio  Eangers,  and 
as  colonel  of  the  territorial  troops,  during  five  years.  Genial, 
jovial,  cheerful,  generous,  benevolent,  fond  of  repartee,  yet 
dignified,  a  lover  of  field  sports,  affectionate  to  horses  and 
dogs,  and  ever  a  friend  of  the  poor,  poor  himself,  he  won  the 
esteem  and  affections  of  all  classes,  and  was  "looked  up  to"  by 
all,  as  he  ''towered  like  a  Saul,  full  head  above  the  height  of 
other  men. ''^  He  was  a  Federalist  in  politics,  and  the  inti- 
mate and  devoted  friend  of  General  George  Washington.  He 
died,  suddenly,  in  Marietta,  in  1805,  amid  universal  lamenta- 
tion, his  memory  held  in  the  tenderest  regard  by  the  whole 
country. 

It  remains  to  speak  of  Sarah  Whipple  Sproat,  the  mother 
of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley.  It  is  a  saying,  not  without  merit, 
that 

"AH  true  trophies  of  the  ages 

Are  from  mother-love  impearled, 

For  the  hand  that  rocks  the  cradle 

Is  the  hand  that  rules  the  world. ' ' 

The  readers  of  history  have  not  forgotten  Cornelia  the  mother 
of  the  Gracchi,  nor  Letitia  the  mother  of  Napoleon,  nor  Menica 
the  mother  of  Augustine.  The  mother  of  Henry  Hastings  Sib- 
ley has  no  less  a  right  to  be  had  in  remembrance.  Sarah  Whip- 
ple Sproat  was  the  only  daughter  of  Colonel  Ebenezer  Sproat, 
and  granddaughter  of  Commodore  Abraham  Whipple.  Born 
in  Providence,  Ehode  Island,  January  28,  1782,  she  was,  in  her 
childhood,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Western  civilization,  landing 
with  her  parents  and  grandparents  in  the  "Mayflower,"  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum  river,  Ohio,  when  seven  years 
old,  the  year  when  General  Washington  was  chosen  the  first 
president  of  the  United  States,  under  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion. Her  tender  feet  were  first  planted  upon  an  unexplored 
wilderness,  inhabited  by  savages  alone.  Owing  to  the  diffi- 
culty of  transportation,  her  parents,  and  those  who  accompa- 
nied them,  could  only  bring  with  them  the  absolute  necessi- 
ties of  life.     Their  homes  were  log  cabins  of  the  rudest  sort, 

1  Hildreth's  Lives,  etc.,  pp.  230-240. 


42  ANCESTKY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

plastered  with  mud,  without  doors  save  the  blankets  the  pio- 
neers had  brought  with  them,  no  windows  except  the  unwains- 
coted  openings  at  the  sides  of  the  cabins,  no  furniture  other 
than  the  trunks  and  rough  boxes  which  served  them  for  seats, 
their  all- sufficing  comforts  the  consciousness  of  the  sacrifice  of 
all  things  for  their  country,  the  providence  of  God,  the  confi- 
dence they  had  in  each  other,  the  mutual  love  of  husband  and 
wife,  parents  and  children,  and  the  hope  of  better  times  for 
their  offspring  in  days  to  come.  The  situation  was  lonely  in- 
deed. 

"No  house,  nor  hut,  nor  fruitful  field, 
Nor  bleating  flock,  nor  lowing  herd. 
No  garden  that  might  pleasure  yield. 
Nor  cheerful,  early  crowing  bird. 

"  No  friends  to  help  in  time  of  need. 
Nor  healing  medicine  to  restore, 
None  near  to  mourn  with  them  their  dead. 
Alone,  in  danger,  humble,  poor." 

The  kinship  of  a  common  suffering  and  sympathy,  how- 
ever, knit  together  the  souls  of  these  brave  pioneers,  as  the 
heart  of  one  man,  strengthening  them  to  undergo,  with  forti- 
tude, the  hardships  and  privations  to  which  he,  who  rules 
the  destinies  of  men  and  determines  the  bounds  and  habita- 
tions that  they  cannot  pass,  had  called  them.  Among  such 
scenes  the  early  childhood  of  Sarah  Whipple  Sproat  was  nur- 
tured. The  idol  of  her  father,  and  an  Indian  war  approach- 
ing, he  resolved  to  move  her  from  the  midst  of  danger,  and 
placed  her,  in  her  tenth  year,  in  the  Moravian  school  at  Beth- 
lehem, near  Philadelphia,  an  institution  in  high  repute,  not 
less  for  its  religious  care  than  for  its  educational  appoint- 
ments. Although  a  tender  child,  yet,  accompanied  by  her 
father,  she  undertook  her  formidable  journey,  traveling  on 
horseback  the  entire  distance  of  near  seven  hundred  miles, 
crossing  the  Alleghanies,  then  almost  uutrod,  and  camping 
in  the  open  air  at  night.  At  the  end  of  three  years  she 
went  to  Philadelphia  to  secure  advantages  in  culture  not 
accessible  in  Bethlehem,  and,  returjiiug  in  her  sixteenth  year, 
to  Marietta,  accompanied  again  by  her  father,  brought  with 
her  the  first  piano  that  ever  came  west  of  the  Alleghany 
mountains.  A  great  change  had  occurred  during  her  absence. 
The  colony  had  assumed  a  new  appearance.  New  settlers  had 
enlarged  its  numbers.     Maiietta  was  no  more  a  lonely  place. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  43 

A  sense  of  security  pervaded  the  atmosphere,  and  amid  the 
enjoyment  of  many  friends  and  a  pleasing  society  of  persons 
of  like  age  with  herself,  she  learned  that  even  a  wilderness 
might  provide  the  blessing  of  a  happy  home. 

Within  five  years  next  ensuing  her  return  she  was  married, 
October,  1802,  in  her  twentieth  year,  to  Solomon  Sibley,  Esq., 
a  young  lawyer  of  high  standing,  not  only  socially,  but  also 
at  the  bar,  who,  having  completed  his  collegiate  education 
and  studied  law  with  William  Hastings,  Esq.,  an  eminent 
attorney  in  Boston,  removed  from  Sutton,  Massachusetts,  to 
Ohio,  in  1797,  the  year  of  her  return.  The  following  spring 
the  young  couple  took  leave  of  Marietta,  to  make  their  home 
in  Detroit,  and  journeying,  first  by  the  river  to  Pittsburgh, 
thence  by  land  to  Erie,  and  thence  by  water  to  Detroit,  reached 
their  destination,  finding  a  warm  welcome  from  a  circle  of 
congenial  friends,  among  whom  were  several  Southern  officers 
in  charge  of  the  fort  and  many  descendants  of  noble  French 
families  of  culture  and  refinement,  the  first  founders  of  the 
beautiful  "City  of  the  Straits."  During  the  winter  of  1804 
Mrs.  Sibley  remained  with  her  father  at  Marietta,  cheering 
his  last  days  with  her  presence,  her  husband's  business  requir- 
ing him  to  be  absent  in  Washington.  As  in  her  childhood, 
so  still,  the  miniature  portrait  of  her  father,  painted  by  the 
celebrated  Kosciusko,  her  father's  warm  personal  friend  and 
companion  during  the  war,  hung  upon  the  wall,  and  the  recital 
of  memories  of  the  past  served  to  enliven  the  winter  evenings 
as  they  passed  away.  The  destruction  of  Detroit  by  fire,  in 
the  spring  of  1805,  compelled  Mr.  Sibley  to  renew  a  long 
dilapidated  dwelling  on  the  square  opposite  what  then  was 
known  as  the  "Biddle  House,"  which  being  put  in  comforta- 
ble order,  and  nicely  furnished,  he  went  to  Marietta,  and 
returning  with  Mrs.  Sibley,  they  occupied  the  house  from 
1805  to  1835,  their  home  for  thirty  years.  In  this  house  Henry 
Hastings  Sibley  was  born,  February  20,  1811. 

What  Detroit  suffered  from  the  British  during  the  War  of 
1812  is  known  to  every  reader  of  American  history,  and  how 
disgraceful  was  the  surrender  of  the  fort  by  General  Hull  to 
General  Brock,  the  British  commander,  all  well-informed  per- 
sons are  aware.  When  the  attack  was  made  upon  the  city 
the  women  and  children  were  all  placed  in  the  fort  for  safety. 
Mrs.  Sibley,  then  the  mother  of  three  children,  was  found, 
holding  in  her  arms  her  youngest   child,  Henry  Hastings, 


44  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

scarce  more  than  a  year  old,  while,  with  her  busy  hands,  she 
was  making  cartridges  for  soldiers,  or  scraping  lint  for  the 
wounded,  during  the  entire  cannonade.  Four  officers,  in  a 
room  adjoining,  were  killed  by  a  cannon  ball,  one  of  this  num- 
ber her  cousin,  her  husband  in  the  field  commanding  a  com- 
pany of  militia  during  the  assault.  Her  conduct  was  sub- 
lime, and  her  courage,  like  that  of  other  noble  women  with 
her,  was  dserving  of  the  highest  praise.  Amid  the  discharg- 
ing of  guns  and  flying  of  splintered  logs  and  breaking  of 
stones  around  her,  she  continued  with  infinite  coolness  her 
patriotic  work,  until  the  surrender  of  the  fort  was  com- 
menced, when,  indignant  at  the  cowardly  conduct  of  General 
Hull,  the  women  all  declared  themselves  ready  to  be  sacri- 
ficed but  not  to  be  disgraced.  It  belongs  to  history  to  say 
that,  when  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  was  scarce  over  a  year  old, 
he  was  a  prisoner  of  war,  basely  surrendered  into  the  hands 
of  a  British  general,  while  his  mother  was  ministering  all  in 
her  power  to  hold  the  fort,  and  his  father  was  exposing  his 
life  in  the  field.  After  the  surrender  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sibley 
made  two  visits  to  Ohio,  the  second  being  the  last,  in  1819. 
Upon  the  death  of  both  her  grandparents,  Mrs.  Sibley's  wid- 
owed mother,  Mrs.  Sproat,  accompanied  her  daughter  and  her 
husband  returning  to  Detroit,  where  she  made  her  last  earthly 
home,  her  death  occurring  in  the  year  1832. 

Mrs.  Sibley  was  now  fifty  years  old,  the  mother  of  nine 
children.  Father,  grandfather,  and  grandmother  gone,  her 
childhood's  home  forsaken  forever,  the  brevity  of  life's  thread 
and  the  solemnity  of  life's  duties  which  always  impressed  her, 
and  shaped  her  children's  religious  instruction,  —  even  as  her 
own  Moravian  training  had  left  its  impress  upon  her, —  seemed 
now  more  than  ever  to  call  her  to  deej)er  and  more  intense 
devotion.  Her  husband's  honors  were  thick  upon  him.  He 
sat,  moreover,  as  chief  justice  on  the  territorial  bench  of 
Michigan,  and  Time  had  swiftly  made  of  her  infant  Henry  a 
stalwart  youth,  wlio  already  liad  gone  from  his  native  roof  to 
seek  his  fortunes  in  a  wide  wilderness  where  the  white  man's 
home  was  only  a  hunting  camp  or  a  trading  post.  Faithful 
to  all  her  duties,  as  a  daughter,  wife,  and  mother,  in  the  midst 
of  frontier  dangers  and  hardships,  her  life  had  been  one  long- 
drawn  struggle,  helping  to  found  a  state,  fashion  the  rising 
generation,  fix  in  the  minds  of  her  children  respect  for  truth, 
the  love  of  virtue,  the  fear  of  God,  and  a  high  ambition  for 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  45 

noble  ends.  She  felt  that  soon  the  autumn  of  life  was  coming, 
and  sere  and  yellow  leaves  would  sj^read  near  her  door,  and 
Death  invite  her  to  enter  the  narrow  house  and  yield  to  the  long 
sleep  appointed  for  all  living.  Therefore  did  she  seek,  all  the 
more  earnestly,  by  acts  of  home  devotion  and  public  charity, 
to  complete  her  ministry  of  kindness  in  all  her  circles  of  wide 
and  varied  influence  among  the  numerous  friends  by  whom 
she  was  surrounded.  To  the  memory  of  this  noble  woman, 
Mrs.  Ellett,  in  her  admirable  volume  on  "The  Pioneer  Wo- 
men of  the  West,"  has  assigned  a  place  of  eminent  and  comely 
honor.  On  none  of  the  twenty-five  whose  virtues  she  cele- 
brates, has  she  lavished  a  more  beautiful,  chaste,  or  touching 
tribute  to  womanly  worth.  Speaking  of  Mrs.  Sibley,  she  says, 
"The  duties  incumbent  upon  her  as  a  wife  and  mother  she 
faithfully  performed.  A  large  family  grew  up  around  her,  in 
whose  minds  it  ever  was  her  constant  endeavor  to  instil  such 
high  principles  as  should  make  them  true  to  themselves  and 
useful  members  of  society.  To  her,  most  truly,  could  the 
scriptural  passage  be  applied,  ^Rer  children  shall  rise  up  and 
call  her  blessed.''  "  And  once  more:  "Of  all  women,  there  was 
not  one  better  fitted  by  nature  and  education  for  the  time  and 
place  than  this  noble  woman.  Blessed  with  a  commanding 
person,  a  vigorous  and  cultivated  intellect,  undaunted  cour- 
age, and  an  intuitive  clear  perception  of  right  and  wrong, 
she  exercised  great  influence  upon  the  society  in  which  she 
lived.  Affectionate  in  disposition,  frank  in  manner,  and  truly 
just  as  well  as  benevolent,  she  was,  during  her  whole  married 
life,  the  centre  of  an  admiring  circle  of  devoted  friends.  As 
age  crept  on,  and  disease  confined  her  to  the  fireside,  she  still 
remained  the  object  of  profound  and  marked  respect  to  the 
people  of  the  city  which  had  grown  around  her,  and  when,  at 
length,  she  was  'gathered  to  her  fathers,'  she  died,  as  she  had 
always  lived,  without  one  to  cast  a  reproach  upon  her  elevated 
and  beautiful  character." ^ 


1  Pioneer  Women  of  the  West,  p.  223. 


CHAPTEE  II. 

EAKLY  LIFE  AND  CAREER  OF  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY. — TRAITS. — EDUCA- 
TION.—  REJECTS  THE  LAW  AS  A  PROFESSION. —  LEAVES  HOME.  —  CLERK 
AT  SAULT  STE.  MARIE.  —  ENTERS  THE  SERVICE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  FUR 
COMPANY. —  MACKINAC. —  TRIP  TO  CHICAGO.  —  CHICAGO  IN  1829. — 
TRIP  TO  DETROIT  IN  1832. —  PERILOUS  VOYAGE  AND  PICTURESQUE 
ENTRANCE  INTO  THE  CITY. —  CHOLERA. —  DEATH. —  SUPPLY  PUECHA.S- 
ING  AGENT  FOR  THE  COMPANY,  1832-1834.  —  JUSTICE  OF  THE  PEACE  IN 
HIS  TEENS. —  BECOMES  PARTNER  IN  THE  COMPANY,  1834.  —  CHIEF 
INSPECTOR  OF  THE  TRADING  POSTS  IN  THE  FAR  NORTHWEST. —  LANDS 
AT  ST.  PETERS,  AT  THE  BIOUTH  OF  THE  MINNESOTA  RIVER,  NOVEMBER, 
1834.  —  EMOTIONS  AND  SENSATIONS. —  FORT  SNELLING.  —  THE  HAM- 
LET.—  INDIANS.  —  BUSINESS. —  SEVERE  WINTER. — EMPLOYMENT.  —  THE 
SPLENDID  GANDER-SHOT. —  SIGN  LANGUAGE.  —  ERECTS  STONE  BUILD- 
INGS.—  BUYS  OUT  THE  INTEREST  OF  BAILLY. —  BACHELOR'S  LIFE. — 
THE  OFFERED  SQUAW.  —  HIS  LIBRARY. —  LITERARY  CONTRIBUTIONS. — 
RELIGIOUS  CHARACTER,  VIEWS,  AND  RELATIONS.  —  INDIAN  BANDS  AND 
DIVISIONS  DESCRIBED. — VIRTUES  OF  THE  INDIANS.  —  THEIR  RELIGION. 

—  CHARACTER  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRADERS  AND  VOYAGEURS. —  CHAR- 
ACTER OF  THE  EARLY  PIONEERS  AND  SETTLERS  OF  MINNESOTA. — 
ROMANTIC     INCIDENTS    IN     MR.    SIBLEY'S    INDIAN    LIFE. —  HUNTING. 

—  ORGANIZATION  OF  A  HUNTING  CAMP  AND  EXPEDITION. — ADVEN- 
TURES.—  MODE  OF  HUNTING.  —  SIBLEY  IN  INDIAN  COSTUME. — A  SAB- 
BATH-KEEPER.—  HIS  NOMS  DE  PLUME,  "hAL  A  DAKOTAH,"  AND 
"WALKER-IN-THE-PINES." — ELK  SHOOTING. —  ENCOUNTER  WITH  A 
BUFFALO. —  PROTECTS  AND  DELIVERS  AN  ASSAULTED  CAMP.  —  SAVES 
THE  WAHPETONS  FROM  DEATH  BY  COLD  AND  STARVATION. — JUSTICE 
OF  THE  PEACE  OVER  A  TERRITORY  LARGE  AS  THE  EMPIRE  OF 
FRANCE. — HIS  MARRIAGE  TO  MISS  SARAH  JANE  STEELE. —  HER 
ANCESTRY. —  HER  THREE  SISTERS,  MARY  H.  STEELE,  MRS.  DR.  POTTS, 
MRS.  GENERAL  JOHNSON. —  THE  MANSION  AT  MENDOTA. —  MR.  SIBLEY 
ERECTS  A  CHURCH  EDIFICE  AT  HIS  OWN  EXPENSE. —  HOSPITALITY. — 
DISTINGUISHED  VISITORS. 

Some  one  in  the  Hue  of  an  ancestry  so  remarkable  as  that 
described  in  the  previous  pages,  could  scarcely  fail  to  enact  a 
role  in  large  measure  corresponding  to  the  inborn  tendencies 
due  to  such  a  descent.  "Biological  science  predicts  with  cer- 
tainty, under  its  laws  of  heredity  and  environment,  the  future 
outgrowth,  in  personal  form,  of  the  varied  forces,  intellectual, 
moral,  social,  and  civil,  whose  combined  action  has  produced 
a  record  of  distinction  in  tlic.  past.  The  impulses  of  past  gen- 
erations tlirol^,  .somewhere,  in  the  life  of  generations  to  come. 
The  double  stream  of  pioneer  blood,  from  both  father's  and 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  47 

mother's  side,  mingling  its  current  and  coursing  its  way 
through  all  the  convulsions  of  English  history  and  Anglo-Saxon 
civilization  down  to  the  Pilgrim  times  and  thence  pulsating 
through  all  the  phases  of  American,  Colonial,  Revolutionary, 
and  national  progress,  rushed,  with  all  its  native  qualities, 
into  the  veins  of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley.  The  scion  of  a  stock 
whose  roots  ran  back  almost  to  the  Norman  Conquest,  was,  by 
hereditary  right  and  impulse,  a  born  van-courier  of  civil- 
ization, impossible  to  be  restrained  to  the  dull  routine  of 
monotonous  life,  or  tied  to  a  social  condition  where  scenes 
of  adventure  and  danger  were  wanting.  His  inclination  and 
disposition,  from  his  earliest  boyhood;  his  aptitudes,  tastes, 
and  daring;  the  high  possibilities  wrapped  in  his  natural  con- 
stitution, all  foretokened  a  brilliant  future  and  flowered  at 
length  to  a  development  of  active  and  varied  career  such  as 
wove  new  laurels  with  which  to  add  renown  to  the  family 
name.  He  was  what  he  was  by  a  predetermined  force,  through 
which  his  free  personality  worked,  planting  in  the  soil  of  Min- 
nesota a  tree  of  blessing  the  fruit  of  which  will  be  gathered 
by  all  coming  generations. 

His  earliest  boyhood  was  soon  distinguished  by  traits  of 
character  that  made  him  conspicuous.  He  surpassed  his  fel- 
lows in  all  manner  of  mischief,  from  morning  till  night,  tran- 
scending their  utmost  capacity  to  do  what  came  to  him  as  a 
thing  most  natural  and  easy,  and  affording  infinite  pleasure. 
To  use  his  own  words,  recording  some  memories  of  his  early 
days,  "So  many  were  my  exploits  in  that  direction  that  my 
dear  mother  often  declared  me  incorrigible  and  the  black 
sheep  of  the  family."  Educated  in  the  academy  at  Detroit, 
which  in  those  days  was  equal  to  a  high  school  education  to- 
day, and  this  supplemented  by  two  years'  study  of  the  Greek 
and  Latin  languages,  under  the  Rev.  H.  Cadle,  an  Episcopal 
clergyman  and  fine  scholar,  and  still  further  by  two  years 
more  of  study  in  the  law,  being  designed  for  the  legal  profes- 
sion, Henry  at  last  broke  through  the  whole  plaii  devised  by 
his  parents,  and  frankly  confessed  to  his  father  that  the  study  of 
the  law  was  to  him  an  irksome  task,  and  that  he  longed  for  a 
more  active,  outdoor,  and  stirring  life.  With  commendable 
wisdom,  his  parents,  after  much  consultation,  consented  to  leave 
their  son  to  pursue  the  bent  of  his  inclination,  and  choose  for 
himself  his  own  career.  Cutting  loose  from  his  home,  in  his 
eighteenth  year,  June  20,  1828,  he  wended  his  way,  northward 


48  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

and  westward,  never  again  to  return  except  as  a  transient 
visitor.  His  debut  in  business  life  was  as  a  clerk  in  the  em- 
ploy of  Mr.  John  Hulbert  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  whose  sutler's 
store,  at  that  point  of  connection  between  Lakes  Superior  and 
Huron,  was  supply  source  for  four  companies  of  the  Fifth  regi- 
ment of  United  States  Infantry  there  garrisoned.  His  second 
step,  after  a  few  months'  service  here,  was  the  acceptance  of 
an  agency  for  the  conduct  of  the  affairs  of  a  Mrs.  Johnson, 
widow,  and  mother-in-law  of  the  celebrated  Henry  L.  School- 
craft, who  was  United  States  Indian  Agent  near  the  Sault,  and 
whose  literary  and  scientific  labors  are  well  known  to  the 
world.  This  new  employment  familiarized  young  Sibley 
with  Indian  aifairs,  inasmuch  as  the  husband  of  Mrs.  Johnson 
had  himself  been  an  Indian  trader  for  years,  and  of  large  busi- 
ness, his  widow  continuing  the  same  after  his  death.  The 
third  step  in  young  Sibley's  opening  career  was  his  acceptance 
of  a  clerkshij),  in  the  spring  of  1829,  in  the  great  "American 
Fur  Company,"  of  which  John  Jacob  Astor  of  New  York  was 
the  head,  and  whose  great  entrepot  for  all  manner  of  furs  and 
pelts,  collected  from  the  regions  washed  by  Lakes  Huron  and 
Michigan,  and  from  the  Mississippi  valley  above  Prairie  du 
Chien,  and  from  the  territory  watered  by  the  tributaries  to 
that  stream,  was  at  Mackinac.  Bidding  adieu  to  his  friends, 
and  to  the  esteemed  lady  whose  affairs  he  had  faithfully  man- 
aged, and  to  her  three  amiable  daughters,  whose  society  be- 
guiled the  loneliness  of  his  evening  hours,  and,  in  some  meas- 
ure, compensated  for  the  loss  of  home,  young  Sibley,  with  a 
half-dozen  adventurous  youths,  embarked  for  Mackinac,  in  a 
small  schooner,  poorly  supplied,  descending  the  river  St. 
Mary,  and  encountering,  in  Lake  George,  a  large  field  of  ice, 
in  the  middle  of  which,  to  the  infinite  disgust  and  annoyance 
of  all,  the  frail  craft  was  wedged  and  imbedded  for  no  less  than 
eight  days.  The  marine  larder  soon  exhausted,  the  gay  youths 
were  compelled,  in  order  to  escape  absolute  starvation,  to 
make  for  the  shore  and  shoot  rabbits,  a  providential  abundance 
being  near.  "This,"  says  Mr.  Sibley,  in  his  notes  of  those 
times,  "was  my  first  venture  in  the  hardships  and  exposures 
incident  to  the  wild  life  upon  which  I  had  entered,  and  it 
was  luxury  compared  with  the  privations  I  was  compelled  to 
endure  many  long  years  thereafter." 

The  goal  of  the  expedition  was,  however,  finally  reached, 
and  the  young  adventurers  landed  at  Mackinac,  where  stood 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  49 

the  central  depot  of  the  American  Fur  Company,  second  only 
to  that  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  in  extent  of  capital, 
number  of  traders,  clerks,  voyageurs,  and  business.  Arrived 
at  his  post,  young  Sibley  immediately  reported  to  Mr.  Eobert 
Stuart,  a  gentleman  of  noble  character,  and  impressive  per- 
sonal bearing,  and  who  subsequently  became  the  leading  elder 
in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Detroit,  a  man  who  was 
not  only  the  trusted  agent  of  John  Jacob  Astor,  but  in 
fact  the  owner,  and  embodiment  of,  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany itself.  Cordially  received,  and  informed  that  the  busi- 
ness sefison  would  not  open  till  June,  and  that  the  time  inter- 
vening was  at  the  disposal  of  Mr.  Sibley,  to  do  with  it  as  he 
pleased,  Mr.  Sibley  accepted  the  invitation  of  an  old  friend, 
John  Kinzie,  whose  father  had  been  an  Indian  agent  stationed 
at  Chicago,  and  both  started  for  that  "Queen  City  of  the 
Lakes."  It  was  a  sijectacle  then,  as  it  is  now,  but  how  differ- 
ent in  1829  from  what  it  is  in  1889 !  An  uneventful  voyage 
on  a  sail  vessel  named  Napoleon  soon  brought  the  two  com- 
panions to  their  destination.  "I  found,"  says  Mr.  Sibley, 
"on  the  present  site  of  the  Queen  City  of  the  Lakes,  a  stock- 
ade constructed  for  defense  against  the  Indians,  but  aban- 
doned, and  perhaps  half  a  dozen  dwellings  occui^ied  bj^  the 
Beaubien  and  other  families,  and  a  single  store  stocked  with  a 
small  but  varied  assortment  of  goods  and  provisions.  A  more 
uninviting  place  could  hardly  be  conceived  of.  Sand,  here, 
there,  everywhere,  with  an  occasional  shrub  to  relieve  the 
monotony  of  the  landscaj^e.  Little  did  I  dream  that  I  would 
live  to  see  on  that  desolate  coast  a  magnificent  city  of  more 
than  a  half  million  of  inhabitants,  almost  rivaling  metropoli- 
tan New  York  in  wealth  and  splendor."  ^ 

The  Napoleon  returned  to  Mackinac  May  22, 1829,  bearing 
backward  Mr.  Sibley  to  his  post,  when,  entering  at  once  upon 
his  duties,  and  finding  a  pleasant  home  in  the  charming  fam- 
ily of  Mr.  Stuart,  he  soon  discovered,  notwithstanding  much 
to  make  life  agreeable,  that  a  clerkship  in  the  American  Fur 
Company  was  no  sinecure,  for  at  least  three  busy  months  in 
the  year,  in  which  from  twelve  to  fourteen  hours  of  close 
confinement  and  writing  were  exacted  every  day  by  the  neces- 
sities of  trade.  The  winter,  however,  was  a  season  of  com- 
parative rest,  affording  opportunity  for  study,  social  enjoy- 
ment, fishing,  and  various  amusements.     In  1832  Mr.  Sibley 

1  Manuscript  Autobiography,  by  H.  H.  Sibley,  p,  19. 
4 


50  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

was  selected  by  Mr.  Stuart,  and  dispatched,  to  transact  im- 
portant business  for  the  company,  with  Hon.  George  B.  Porter, 
governor,  and  ex- officio  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  for 
the  Territory  of  Michigan,  headquarters  at  Detroit.  A  splen- 
did bark  canoe,  with  a  crew  of  nine  chosen  voyageurs,  and  six 
days'  rations  (consumed  in  four),  was  the  outfit.  A  severe 
storm  upon  Saginaw  bay  had  nearly  wrecked  the  whole  enter- 
prise but  for  the  superiority  of  the  boat,  and  the  men  who 
succeeded  in  doubling,  without  accident,  Point  aux  Barques, 
yet,  when  distant  a  mile  from  shore,  night  already  upon  them, 
and  borne  along  by  the  swell  of  the  billow,  suddenly  settled 
upon  the  top  of  a  sharp  rock,  tearing  a  large  hole  through  the 
frail  bark  in  the  middle  of  the  canoe.  The  danger  was  great. 
Instantly  thrusting  his  large  overcoat  into  the  hole,  Mr. 
Sibley  ordered  the  men  to  paddle  for  shore  with  the  utmost 
expedition.  By  good  fortune,  a  sand  beach  was  detected  on 
the  iron-bound  coast,  where,  landing  none  too  soon,  the  water 
was  emptied  from  the  canoe,  which  was  borne  on  the  shoulders 
of  the  men  to  a  convenient  distance,  to  await  repairs.  For 
two  days  the  storm  continued,  provisions  exhausted,  with 
only  the  gum  and  bark  of  trees  on  which  to  subsist.  The 
canoe  repaired,  the  alternatives  demanded  his  immediate 
choice;  either  to  stay  and  starve  to  death,  or  dare  once  more  the 
treacherous  sea,  paddling  for  dear  life,  no  place  for  food  or 
supplies  nearer  than  distant  one  hundred  miles.  The  die  was 
cast.  At  the  order  of  Mr.  Sibley,  the  brave-hearted  voyageurs 
launched  the  canoe,  and,  amid  the  breaking  of  waves,  all 
sprang  to  their  seats,  plying  their  paddles  with  the  utmost 
exertion.  A  sail  soon  improvised,  and  the  paddles  used  as  a 
centre-board,  all  hands  devoted  to  the  task  of  preventing 
leeway,  the  canoe,  like  a  lion  leaping  the  plain,  bounded  over 
the  billows,  and  before  sunset  had  accomplished  the  flight  of 
eighty  miles.  Landing  at  a  small  habitation  twelve  miles 
from  the  lower  end  of  Lake  Huron,  Mr.  Sibley  was  informed 
that  the  Asiatic  cholera  was  raging,  hundreds  were  dying, 
the  shores  lined  with  the  dead,  the  water  unfit  to  be  used, 
and  was  advised  to  retrace  his  way  to  Mackinac  with  all  haste. 
He  declined  to  abandon  the  duty  he  was  intrusted  to  dis- 
charge, or  take  counsel  of  fear.  Securing  only  six  pounds  of 
Hour,  whi<;h  was  mixed  with  water,  and  with  one  and  a  half 
pounds  of  pork  for  the  whole  company  of  ten  men,  paying 
roundly  for  the  same,  the  scant  supply  was  soon  cooked  and 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  51 

devoured.  The  journey  resumed,  Fort  Gratiot  was  reached 
the  same  day,  where,  in  passing,  Mr.  Sibley  learned  from  the 
sentinel  that  Detroit  was  scourged  by  cholera,  and  deaths 
occurring  at  nearly  every  point  on  the  river  St.  Clair.  Hear- 
ing, however,  that  no  cases  had  been  reported  at  Ward's  Land- 
ing, twenty-five  miles  below,  he  pushed  for  that  point,  reach- 
ing the  same  at  midnight,  and  with  difficulty  secured  pro- 
vision for  his  men.  More  than  sixty  miles  remained  to  be 
traversed.  Next  morning,  mindful  of  the  danger  before  him, 
yet  mindful  also  of  the  lives  of  others,  he  proposed  to  his  men, 
himself  to  proceed  on  horseback,  at  once,  to  Detroit,  leaving 
them  where  they  still  were,  in  view  of  the  fact  that,  while  he 
himself  was  single,  the  rest  were  married  and  men  of  families 
dependent  upon  them  for  their  living  and  care.  He  coun- 
seled them  not  to  expose  themselves,  but  await  his  return, 
which  he  hoped  to  accomplish  in  a  few  days.  The  kind- 
hearted  men  refused  to  accede  to  the  j)roposal  so  noble,  and 
declared  themselves  ready  to  run  any  risks  and  share  any 
dangers  to  which  their  leader  might  be  exposed.  The  party 
resumed  their  journey,  landing  at  night  at  Grand  Marais, 
where,  fighting  mosquitoes  the  whole  night,  they  prepared 
next  morning  to  enter  Detroit,  seven  miles  distant.  The 
grand  entrance  of  the  voyageurs,  commanded  by  Mr.  Siblev, 
into  the  city  of  Detroit  is  too  graphically  described  by  his  own 
pen  to  allow  it,  for  a  moment,  to  be  varied  by  the  pen  of 
another.     Speaking  of  this  entrance,  he  says: 

"  Early  in  the  morning,  the  voyageurs  prepared  for  a  grand  entry  into  the 
city,  by  arraying  themselves  in  their  best  apparel.  They  donned  high- 
crowned  hats  of  the  same  material,  with  abundance  of  tinsel  cords  and 
black  plumes,  calico  shirts  of  bright  tints  exactly  alike,  and  broad  worsted 
belts  around  their  waists.  Being  all  fine,  athletic  fellows,  they  made  quite 
a  striking  appearance.  The  canoe  had  been  gaily  painted,  and,  on  this 
occasion,  two  large  black  plumes,  and  two  of  bright  red  of  like  dimensions, 
adorned  the  bow  and  stern  of  the  craft,  respectively.  All  things  in  readi- 
ness, we  took  our  several  stations,  and  in  a  few  moments,  under  the  impe- 
tus of  nine  i)addles,  wielded  by  muscular  arms,  and  the  inspiration  of  a 
Canadian  boat-song,  in  the  chorus  of  which  all  joined,  we  shot  down  the 
current  of  the  great  river  of  the  straits  at  almost  half-railroad  speed.  The 
appearance  of  a  bark  canoe  of  the  largest  size,  with  its  paraphernalia,  manned 
by  a  strong  crew  of  hardy  voyageurs,  keeping  time  with  their  paddles  to  the 
not  unmelodious  notes  of  a  French  boat-song,  was  so  unusual  and  attrac- 
tive that  the  wharves  were  crowded  with  people  to  witness  our  progress  past 
the  city.  "1 

1   Manuscript  Autobiography,  p.  27. 


52  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,   AND   TIMES   OF 

Eeporting  at  quarantine,  Mr.  Sibley  learned  of  the  decease 
and  burial  of  his  grandmother,  who  fell  a  victim  to  the  fatal 
epidemic,  the  one  who,  though  much  loved,  yet,  of  all  the 
family,  could  best  be  spared.  Returning  from  quarantine, 
and  running  up  stream  a  mile  or  more,  a  vacant  house  on 
the  river  bank,  owned  by  an  Indian  trader,  Camjjeau,  became 
the  headquarters  of  the  voyageurs  during  their  stay  in  Detroit, 
supplied  abundantly  with  all  things  necessary,  intoxicating 
liquors  being  strictly  prohibited.  Revisiting  the  house  which 
had  been  the  place  of  his  birth,  Mr.  Sibley  spent  one  night  in 
the  old  home,  and,  having  afterward  transacted  successfully, 
with  Governor  Porter,  the  business  for  which  he  had  taken 
his  long  and  dangerous  journey,  and  securing  important 
licenses  for  the  Fur  company,  returned  -svith  his  gallant  crew 
to  Mackinac,  gave  account  of  his  mission  to  Robert  Stuart, 
and  entered  upon  his  active  duties  as  clerk  of  the  company. 

During  five  years  Mr.  Sibley  remained  in  the  employ  of 
the  Fur  company  as  its  clerk.  In  1832-1833,  1833-1834,  he 
was  charged  with  the  responsible  duty  of  supply  purchasing 
agent  for  the  whole  company,  providing  not  only  the  food  but 
all  other  articles  needed  for  the  conduct  and  operations  of  the 
company  during  the  current  year.  The  company's  confidence 
in  him  was  unbounded,  Letters  of  credit,  carte-hlanche,  were 
given  him  upon  New  York.  His  headquarters  were  at  Cleve- 
land, Ohio.  A  trust  so  important,  assigned  to  one  so  young 
and  inexperienced,  argued  a  great  capacity  and  a  reliance  not 
less  marked.  On  horseback,  the  states  of  Ohio  and  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  great  part,  were  scoured,  during  the  coldest  season 
of  the  year,  and  no  contract  was  closed  before  the  best  possi- 
bilities of  the  market  and  the  field  had  been  canvassed. 
During  his  stay  in  Mackinac  he  was  appointed  justice  of  the 
peace  for  the  county  of  Mackinac,  by  Governor  Porter  of 
Michigan,  a  commission  received  before  he  was  of  age; 
anotlier  mark  of  that  increasing  regard  which  was  ever  open- 
ing his  way  to  heavier  and  higher  responsibilities  in  regions 
more  distant,  in  years  to  come. 

The  fourth  step  in  young  Sibley's  career  —  the  one  that 
decided  the  tenor  of  his  wliole  subsequent  life  —  was,  when, 
in  1834,  he  became  a  partner  in  the  Fur  company,  which 
resulted  in  his  l)eing  placed  at  the  head  of  all  its  afiiiirs  in  the 
far  Northwest,  and  in  his  advent  as  a  young  man  to  the  wilds 
of  Minnesota,     in  1834  John  Jacob  Astor  sold  out  his  interest 


HON,    HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,    LL.D.  53 

in  the  Northwest  to  a  new  corporation  in  New  York  City,  with- 
out change  of  name,  and  of  which  Eamsey  Crooks,  father  of 
Colonel  William  Crooks  of  St,  Paul,  and  for  a  long  time  one 
of  Mr,  Astor's  trusted  agents,  was  chosen  president.  The  reor- 
ganization of  the  company  was  decreed,  young  Sibley  having 
one  year  yet  remaining  by  virtue  of  his  contract  with  the 
Astor  company,  and  therefore  could  not  be  legally  transferred 
to  the  new  company  without  his  consent.  Held  in  esteem  by 
the  incoming  president,  he  frankly  avowed  to  him  the  dissat- 
isfaction of  his  parents  with  his  present  position,  which,  to 
them,  seemed  inferior  to  what  their  son  deserved,  and  made 
known  the  fact  that  the  offer  of  cashier  in  two  banks,  one  in 
Detroit,  the  other  in  Huron,  with  liberal  salary,  had  already 
been  extended.  He  further  stated  that  while  he  recognized 
the  right  of  the  old  company  to  insist  on  his  year's  service, 
he  could  not  concede  such  right  to  the  new;  yet,  from  respect 
to  the  incoming  president,  an  old  friend  of  his  father,  he 
would  offer  to  pay  to  the  new  corporation  ^1,000  as  a  consid- 
eration for  its  voluntary  release  of  him  from  his  existing 
engagement.  The  proposition  was  rejected.  In  terms  the 
most  flattering.  Colonel  Crooks  replied  that  the  services  of 
Mr.  Sibley,  young  as  he  was,  were  indispensable  to  the  best 
interests  of  the  company,  referred  to  the  signal  success  of  his 
efforts  already,  and,  as  a  counter  proposition,  offered  to  him 
the  chieftainship  of  the  entire  interests  of  the  Fur  company  in 
the  far  Northwest,  guaranteeing  terms  satisfactory  to  himself 
and  his  parents.  It  hai3pened  that,  just  at  that  time,  two 
eminent  Indian  traders,  Hercules  L,  Dousman  and  Joseph 
Rolette,  Sr.,  friends  of  young  Sibley,  devised  a  project  of  their 
own,  seconding,  with  ardor,  at  the  same  time,  the  offer  of 
Colonel  Crooks.  Their  project  was  no  less  than  that  of  form- 
ing a  copartnership  consisting  of  the  new  American  Fur  Com- 
pany, Dousman,  Eolette,  and  Sibley,  the  former  to  furnish 
the  capital,  Dousman  to  conduct  the  fur  trade  on  the  old 
ground  previously  under  charge  of  himself  and  Rolette,  head- 
quarters at  Prairie  du  Chien,  Rolette,  on  account  of  age,  to  be 
a  nominal  partner,  and  Sibley,  stalwart  and  vigorous,  to  push 
out  into  the  wilderness  and  take  exclusive  control  of  the  trade 
with  numerous  bands  of  Sioux  Indians  from  Lake  Pepin  to  the 
British  line,  and  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Missouri.  Dous- 
man depicted  the  future  in  glowing  colors,  and,  well  aware 
how  addicted  to  field  sports  and  outdoor  adventure;  how  full 


54  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

of  desire  for  huutiug,  shooting,  fishing,  and  roaming  young 
Sibley  was,  expounded  Genesis  to  its  utmost  capacity,  dilating 
upon  "the  beast  of  the  field,"  "the  fowl  of  the  air,"  "thefish 
of  thesea,"  "the  herb-yielding  seed,"  "every  creeping  thing," 
"the  grass  of  the  earth,"  and  the  "lights"  of  heaven,  by  day 
and  by  night,  in  a  firmament  clear  as  glass;  —  Nature  in  all  her 
wildness,  beauty,  and  charm,  and  furs  in  all  their  teeming 
abundance; — breathing  flowers  and  sparkling  waterfalls;  — 
the  chase  and  the  wigwam,  and  El  Dorados  of  certain  posses- 
sion;—  until  Sibley's  mind,  intoxicated  by  the  description, 
wavered,  reeled,  surrendered,  and,  rejecting  the  offer  of  cash- 
ier in  a  bank,  accepted  the  new  proposal,  and  prepared  to 
advance  into  the  native  wilds  of  the  far  Northwest.  He  was 
then  in  his  twenty-third  year.  The  junction  of  the  Missis- 
sippi and  Minnesota  rivers,  St.  Peters,  now  Mendota  (M'dota, 
meeting  of  the  waters),  was  selected  as  the  headquarters  of 
Mr.  Sibley, — the  whole  region  an  absolute  wild  save  where 
the  flag  floated  at  Fort  Snelling,  and  the  rude  huts  of  some 
traders  appeared.  A  thousand  miles  more  were  to  be  put 
between  him  and  his  paternal  home. 

Leaving  Mackinac  October  25,  1834,  and  journeying  by 
way  of  Green  bay.  Fox  river,  the  portage  of  the  Wisconsin, 
and  availing  himself  of  the  aid  of  a  small  rickety  stern-wheel 
steamer,  he  reached  Prairie  du  Chien  on  the  fifth  day  after  he 
started,  and  was  warmly  welcomed  by  his  partner,  Colonel 
Dousman.  Remaining  a  few  days,  he  then  began  the  formida- 
ble journey  of  three  hundred  miles  on  horseback,  through  an 
unexplored  and  uninhabited  wilderness.  He  was  his  own  com- 
missariat. Falling  in  with  Alexis  Bailly,  whose  destination 
was  the  same  as  his  own,  and  each  attended  by  a  Canadian 
voyageur,  a  young  half-breed  accompanying,  the  five  proceeded 
along  their  way.  Compelled  to  swim  their  horses  across  the 
Mississippi  by  the  side  of  a  wooden  dugout,  each  horse  with 
a  rope  round  his  neck,  the  end  held  by  the  rider,  the  animal 
on  which  Mr.  Sibley  had  ridden  suddenly  became  intractable. 
The  moment  his  feet  touched  the  bottom  of  the  stream  he  com- 
menced plunging  and  the  dugout  began  capsizing,  until  pas- 
sengers, baggnge,  and  clothing,  were  together  emptied  into  the 
deei)  water,  out  of  which,  however,  after  serious  eflbrt,  the 
party  delivered  themselves,  drenched  and  shivering,  to  spend 
the  cool  autumn  day  in  drying  their  apparel,  securing  their 
horses  and  effects,  and  (sxpressing  grateful  thanks  to  divine 
Providence  that  things  were  no  worse. 


HON.    HENKY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,    LL.D.  55 

Traveling  industriously  during  the  day,  and  camping  at 
night  in  the  open  air,  with  nothing  to  guide  thoir  course  in 
the  trackless  waste  save  the  knowledge  that  the  Mississippi 
river  ran  north  and  south,  the  adventurers  in  two  days 
reached  the  banks  of  that  stream,  and  in  three  days  more, 
November  7,  1834,  arrived  at  St.  Peters,  twelve  days  having 
passed  since  Mr.  Sibley  had  bidden  farewell  to  his  friends  at 
Mackinac.  The  only  habitation  of  a  white  man  between 
Prairie  du  Chien  and  St.  Peters,  three  hundred  miles  apart, 
was  that  of  an  Indian  trader  named  Eocque,  near  the  present 
town  of  Wabasha,  whose  hospitality  ministered  to  the  belated 
travelers  a  night's  shelter  from  a  pitiless  storm,  a  generous 
feast  on  fresh  venison  and  wild  honey,  comfortable  beds  on 
which  to  rest,  and,  in  the  morning,  after  an  ample  meal,  a 
word  of  good  cheer  as  the  party  started  away. 

The  impression  made  upon  Mr.  Sibley,  when  his  eyes  first 
looked  on  the  scenes  in  the  midst  of  which  his  home  was  to  be, 
long  years,  and  really  for  life,  is  best  told  in  his  own  words: 

"When  I  reached  the  brink  of  the  hill  overlooking  the  surrounding 
country,  I  was  struck  with  the  picturesque  beauty  of  the  scene.  From  that 
outlook,  the  course  of  the  Mississippi  river  from  the  north  was  seen  sud- 
denly turning  eastward,  to  where  St.  Paul  now  stands, — the  Minnesota 
river  from  the  west,  the  principal  tributary  of  the  main  stream, — and  at  the 
junction  of  the  two  was  the  military  post  of  Fort  Snelling,  perched  on  a 
high  and  commanding  point,  with  its  stone  walls  and  blockhouses,  bidding 
defiance  to  any  attempt  at  capture  by  the  poorly-armed  savages,  should 
such  be  made.  There  was  also  visible  a  wide  expanse  of  prairie  in  the  rear 
of  the  fort.  But  when  I  descended  into  the  amphitheatre,  where  the  hamlet 
was  situated,  I  was  disappointed  to  fiud  only  a  group  of  log  huts,  the  most 
pretentious  of  which  was  the  home  of  my  fellow  traveler,  Mr.  Bailly,  in 
whose  family  I  became  an  inmate  for  the  next  six  months."^ 

This  hamlet,  where  now  couches  the  little  town  of  Men- 
dota,  at  the  foot  of  the  hills  that  overlook  Fort  Snelling,  a 
mile  distant,  became  the  abiding-place  of  Mr.  Sibley  for  years, 
and  under  his  active  management,  and  that  of  others  asso- 
ciated with  him,  grew  to  a  post  of  great  importance,  and 
flourished  as  the  entrepot  of  the  fur  trade  for  an  immense 
region  of  country.  Lonely  enough  was  the  new  home.  There 
were  no  Indian  lodges,  or  tepees,  at  St.  Peters,  and  but  a  few 
at  Kaposia  below  and  at  different  places  on  the  Minnesota 
river  above,  the  nearest  of  which  was  Black  Dog,  three  miles 
away.     The  only  relief  to  the   solitude  was   Fort  Snelling, 

1  Manuscript  Autobiography,  p.  41. 


56  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

where  the  first  white  settlement  was  made  in  1819,  a  few  small 
groups  of  people,  in  1837,  three  years  following  Mr.  Sibley's 
arrival,  having  been  gathered  at  Stillwater,  St.  Paul,  and  St. 
Anthony.  Not  till  1818  was  there  a  goodly  number  on  the 
west  side  of  the  St.  Croix.  Nevertheless,  four  companies  of 
the  Fifth  regiment.  United  States  Infantry,  commanded  by 
Major  Joseph  Plympton,  garrisoned  the  fort,  and  the  families 
of  the  officers,  some  of  whom  were  gentlemen  of  education 
and  refinement,  and  the  ladies  of  the  garrison,  afforded  to 
Mr.  Sibley  a  very  pleasant  society,  all  the  more  that  he  had 
been  furnished  with  letters  of  introduction  to  the  officers, 
especially  to  Major  Lawrence  Taliaferro,  the  Indian  agent, 
who,  with  his  employes,  occupied  two  stone  buildings  outside 
the  walls  of  the  fort.  Such  was  the  habitat  of  young  Sibley, 
and  such  his  environment,  a  wide  wilderness  infested  with 
savages,  yet  beautiful  with  many  scenes  of  native  charm, 
a  desert,  save  where  the  log  hut  of  the  trader  stood,  and  the 
massive  walls  of  the  fort  invited  the  defenseless  to  find  a 
refuge;  a  place  distant  three  hundred  miles  from  any  white 
settlement,  "the  one  spot  where  the  missionary  of  the  cross, 
the  man  of  science,  and  the  adventurous  trader  made  prepa- 
ration for  their  journeys  among  the  villages  of  the  wandering 
Dakotas."^  This  was  seventeen  years  before  any  of  the 
great  treaties  negotiated  at  St.  Peters  (Mendota)  and  Traverse 
des  Sioux  had  extinguished  the  Indian  title  to  the  immense 
area  now  known  as  Minnesota,  and  part  of  Dakota  besides. 

The  winter  of  1834-1835  was  one  peculiarly  severe  and  pro- 
tracted. But  little  business  was  done  during  those  cheerless 
days,  the  evenings  being  spent  either  in  reading  or  social  visi- 
tation at  the  fort,  whilingaway  the  hours  either  at  the  chess- 
board or  some  other  amusement  or  in  general  conversation. 
The  sirring  following,  hite  of  arrival,  and  the  winter  diet  of 
salt  pork  palling  on  the  taste,  a  piece  of  fresh  meat  rarely  seen, 
and  the  family  of  Mr,  Bailly  always  made  happy  by  the  ad- 
vent of  a  goose,  even  if  only  occasional,  yet  marking  a  glee- 
some  day  in  the  hamlet  calendar,  it  occurred  to  Mr.  Sibley, 
one  fine  morning,  to  shoulder  his  trusty  rifle,  and,  with  Mr. 
Bailly,  wend  his  way  along  the  banks  of  the  Minnesota,  sim- 
ply "for  the  sake  of  exercise  and  observation,"  yet  ready  to 
confront  whatever  dangers  might  oppose  their  path.  In  a  few 
moments,  the  well-known  yet  curious   "honk''  of  a  gander 

1  Minn.  Uist.  Coll.,  Vol.  r,  p.  420. 


HON.    HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,    LL.D.  57 

coming  through  the  air,  saluted  the  ear,  and  the  presence  of 
a  flock  of  five  wild  geese  greeted  the  vision  of  the  strollers. 
The  delightful  recollections  of  the  last  goose  that  adorned  the 
menu  in  the  hamlet  rose  with  vivid  brilliancy  apon  the  mind, 
and,  instantly  concealing  themselves  in  the  bushes  on  the 
shore  of  a  lake  between  the  river  and  the  bluff,  Mr.  Sibley, 
naturally  musical,  tuned  his  instrument  and  began  to  play 
the  "Oratorio  of  the  Gander,"  and  imitate  the  "honk"  with 
such  success,  the  nasal  chords  and  epiglottis  being  well  in  order, 
that  the  whole  flock,  after  detouring  over  Snelling,  returned, 
circling,  and  alighted  on  the  ice  in  the  centre  of  the  lake,  dis- 
tant at  least  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  where  the 
young  musician  was  in  ambush.  Recounting  the  scene  and 
the  event,  with  just  pride,  as  an  evidence,  not  only  of  his 
musical  proficiency  in  early  life,  but  of  his  splendor  as  the 
^'finest  shot  in  the  country,^^  he  says:  "I  remarked,  sotto  voce, 
to  my  companion,  that  the  distance  was  too  great  to  insure 
a  certain  shot,  but  as  there  was  no  way  of  nearer  approach 
without  alarming  the  keen -eyed  birds,  I  would  do  the  best 
I  could  in  the  premises.  I  took  a  careful  aim  at  the  head 
of  the  leader,  a  huge  gander,  believing  that  the  ball  would 
be  depressed  in  traversing  so  long  a  line  of  sight,  and 
might  probably  strike  the  body  of  the  fowl.  What  was 
our  delight  when,  with  the  crack  of  the  rifle,  the  bird  fell 
with  a  heavy  thud  upon  the  frozen  surface,  and  the  rest  of  the 
flock  took  refuge  in  flight.  We  tried  to  beguile  them  with 
plaintive  goose  appeals,  but  without  effect.  They  could  not 
be  persuaded  to  come  back,  even  to  ascertain  the  fate  of  their 
unfortunate  comrade  whose  head  had  just  been  severed  from 
his  body. "  ^  The  circumstance  is  worth  narrating.  No  sports- 
man, no  Indian  in  all  the  region,  could  excel  Mr.  Sibley  in 
the  use  of  the  rifle.  The  gander  having  been  shot,  the  ques- 
tion now  was  how  to  secure  the  prize  and  bring  the  game 
ashore.  Here  again  Mr.  Sibley  showed  his  pre-eminence  in 
acrobatic  and  aquatic  qualities,  and  supported  the  fame  of  his 
daring  and  versatile  ancestry.  The  thawing  ice  would  bear  a 
gander's  weight,  but  not  the  footstep  of  a  Sibley.  And  yet  the 
bird  must  not  be  lost,  nor  must  the  table  be  disappointed  of  its 
due.  Snatching  a  pine  board  lying  near  the  shore,  Mr.  Sibley 
started,  in  the  face  of  his  companion's  protest,  and  made  for 
the  victim  of  his  rifle,  using  the  board  as  necessity  required. 

1  Manuscript  Autobiography,  p.  45. 


58  ANCESTRY,    LIFE,    AND  TIMES  OF 

Once  and  again,  a  third  time,  and  a  fourth,  the  ice  broke  in, 
but  the  traveler  still  plowed  his  way,  like  a  steam- dredge 
breaking  ice,  eyes  fastened  on  the  gander,  hands  clinging  to 
the  plank,  feet  working  with  all  energy,  and  body  jjersevering 
to  the  goal.  "I  broke  through,"  writes  the  hero  of  this  adven- 
ture, "several  times,  but  persevered,  and  after  a  long  and 
fatiguing  experience,  I  brought  the  game  triumphantly  to  the 
dry  land,  at  the  cost  of  a  complete  immersion  in  the  cold 
water."  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  Heaven- sent  biped  was 
quickly  attended  to  by  the  family  of  Mr.  Bailly,  who,  compas- 
sionating its  distress,  removed  its  clothing,  introduced  it  to 
the  fire  and  arrayed  it  in  its  glory,  smoking,  on  the  table, 
when  —  Mr.  Sibley  having  given  thanks — the  disappearance 
of  the  fowl  began  amid  the  general  jubilee  of  a  much  delighted 
and  most  grateful  family. 

Other  hunting  incidents  not  less  amusing,  and  which  filled 
up  the  si^ace  before  the  working  time  commenced,  are  pre- 
served, and  several  are  publicly  recorded.  As  the  season 
advanced,  and  the  lakes  near  Mendota  were  visited  by  ducks 
and  geese,  the  young  sportsman  indulged  his  favorite  desire. 
On  one  occasion,  a  Sioux  Indian  in  the  distance  and  Mr.  Sib- 
ley both  discharged  their  guns  at  the  same  flock  of  ducks, 
almost  simultaneously,  the  Indian  having  only  one  barrel,  Mr. 
Sibley  having  two,  out  of  which  the  shot  flew  thick  among  the 
birds.  With  cool  impudence,  the  Indian  stepped  to  where 
eight  fowls  had  fallen,  and,  one  by  one,  laced  the  whole  num- 
ber, dangling,  to  his  body,  having  thrust  the  head  of  each 
beneath  his  belt.  Loading  his  gun,  Mr.  Sibley  then  coolly 
walked  over  to  where  the  Indian  stood,  and  with  infinite  self- 
possession,  and  the  air  of  immemorial  right,  unlaced,  at  his  leis- 
ure, the  entire  number  from  the  Indian's  belt,  attaching  them, 
head  by  head,  securely  to  his  own,  the  Indian  staring  and 
mute  with  astonishment.  Like  "Scotch  Geordy,"  who,  desir- 
ous of  teaching  theology,  yet  unable  to  use  the  vocal  organs, 
held  up  three  fingers  to  denote  that  there  are  "three  persons 
in  the  Godhead,"  then  clubbed  his  fist  to  prove  that  these 
"three  are  one,"  so  Mr.  Sibley,  duck-girded,  and  wishing  to 
preach  a  discourse  on  morals,  yet  powerless  to  speak  the 
Sioux  tongue,  resorted  to  genuine  Dakota  sign  language, 
in  order  to  communicate  his  ideas  and  reveal  his  emotions. 
"I  held  up,"  he  says,  ^'■two  fingers,  denoting  that,  if  he 
had  been  satisfied  with  two  ducks,  I  would  not  have  objected, 


HON.    HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,    LL.D.  59 

but  as  he  was  so  gluttonous  as  to  appropriate  the  whole 
number,  he  should  have  none!^^^  It  may  be  imagined  that 
the  Indian  understood,  by  two  fingers  uplifted,  two  pos- 
sible ducks,  but,  as  no  actual  fowl  of  that  number  were  offered, 
it  is  hard  to  conceive  how  Dakota  logic  could  have  dreamed 
of  ducks  at  all!  By  what  process  of  ratiocination  untutored 
"Lo,"  who  "sees  God  in  clouds  and  hears  him  in  the  wind," 
could  see  ducks  in  the  digitals  of  Mr.  Sibley,  or  pass  from  the 
outstanding  major  and  minor  premises  to  the  conclusion 
^^  shall' t  have  any,^^  or  how  2=0,  is  really  an  entertainment  for 
Oedipus!  More  likely,  the  Indian,  abashed  by  the  shaking 
menace  before  him,  began  to  think  that  Sibley  meant  to  say, 
"  You  unconverted  heathen,  you!  You  have  done  this  busi- 
ness once!  shooting  my  ducks  I  came  all  the  way  from  Macki- 
nac to  find,  and  even  stealing  them,  here  in  my  presence  ! 
If  you  do  it  twice,  I'll  discharge  both  barrels  at  your 
head!"  At  any  rate,  this  was  the  first  lesson  in  ethics  it  was 
Mr.  Sibley's  privilege  to  impart  to  the  tawny  children  of  the 
proud  Dakotas.  In  later  years,  when  familiar  with  the  Sioux 
language,  it  afforded  him  supreme  amusement  to  repeat  and 
mimic  the  incident,  and  tell  how  dashed  the  Indian  was  at  his 
cool  presumption. 

The  summer  of  1835  gone,  Mr,  Sibley  purchased  his  friend 
Bailly's  interest  in  the  fur  trade,  and  began  in  earnest  to  set 
up  for  himself,  forming  a  bachelor's  establishment,  with  a 
mulatto  named  "Joe  Robinson"  as  his  cook,  and  who,  though 
not  over- tidy  in  his  habits,  yet  served  the  purpose  of  his  sta- 
tion. This  new  establishment  became  "the  Sibley  Hotel"  at 
St.  Peters,  there  being  no  public  house  of  entertainment,  nor 
accommodations  for  travelers,  near  the  place.  Under  such 
circumstances  Mr.  Sibley  became  the  necessary  host,  not  only 
of  the  many  who  bore  "letters  of  introduction"  to  him,  but 
of  all  of  "genteel  appearance"  whose  love  of  observation  led 
them  to  that  distant  region,  his  guests  being  at  times  "not 
less  than  twenty,"  his  hospitality  providing  for  them  all, 
"free  of  expense,"  yet  in  some  instances  being  repaid  either 
by  insolence  and  ingratitude,  or  by  j)rolonging  their  stay 
beyond  what  common  decency  and  good  manners  should  dic- 
tate. 


1  Manuscript  Autobiograplij-,  p.  47. 


60  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

In  1835-1836  Mr.  Sibley  constructed  and  completed  two 
stone  buildings,  one  a  large  warehouse  with  ample  facilities 
for  conducting  business  and  accommodating  guests,  the  other 
his  private  residence,  a  substantial  and  massive  structure, 
commodious  and  wisely  planned,  and  which  still  stands  where 
his  pioneering  feet  first  halted  at  Mendota;  the  first  stone  resi- 
dence ever  erected  in  all  Minnesota  and  Dakota.  In  the  fall 
of  1835  Mr.  Sibley  made  his  first  tour  of  inspection  to  the  fur- 
trading  posts  of  the  company  in  which  he  was  now  a  partner, 
and  the  control  of  whose  interests  were  in  his  hands  for  the 
whole  region  of  the  far  Northwest.  Situated  at  long  distances 
from  each  other,  separated  by  extensive  prairies,  encampment 
in  the  open  field  and  dependence  on  the  gun  were  matters  of 
necessity.  The  report  having  been  circulated  in  advance 
among  the  Dakotas  that  a  new  man  had  been  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  fur  trade,  there  was  a  general  desire  to  see  the 
stranger,  the  result  of  which  was  that  men,  women,  and 
children  all  streamed  from  their  wigwams  to  behold  him,  as 
he  entered,  passed  through,  or  temporarily  stayed  in,  the 
Dakota  villages.  Universal  kindness  and  an  overflowing 
hospitality  saluted  him  wherever  he  went.  On  the  banks  of 
Lake  Traverse,  the  last  trading  post  visited,  the  buildings  of 
the  post  were  inclosed  in  a  stockade  of  high  substantial  oak 
pickets,  with  port-holes  for  musketry,  and  blockhouses  at  the 
angles,  for  the  purpose  of  defense  in  case  of  attack,  the  Indi- 
ans, accustomed  to  trade  at  that  point,  being  of  a  more  than 
usually  wild  and  quarrelsome  disposition,  and  no  entrance 
allowed  them,  save  through  their  chiefs  asking  and  obtaining 
a  brief  permission.  At  this  post  Mr.  Sibley  had  placed  in 
charge  no  less  a  person  than  the  well-known  Major  Joseph  E. 
Brown,  afterward  so  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  Minnesota. 

It  was  during  this  year,  1835-1836,  an  incident  occurred 
which  reveals,  to  some  extent,  the  snares  to  which  so  many 
adventurers  are  exposed  on  the  one  side,  and  on  the  other  the 
chiiste  and  honorable  desire  of  an  Indian  parent  to  provide 
well  for  his  daughter;  a  condition  of  things  often  abused  by 
the  white  man  to  his  own  undoing,  as  also  to  the  kindling  of 
eternal  resentment  on  the  part  of  the  red  man.  Mr.  Sibley 
shall  narrate  it  in  his  own  language: 

"  It  was  the  fustom,  in  those  days,  to  leave  the  doors  of  all  huildings 
unlocked,  save  only  those  of  the  stores  where  goods  and  provisions  were 
kept.     I  was  lying  in   bed,  in  the  log  house,  shortly  after  my  return  from 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  Gl 

my  loug  trip,  engaged  iu  reading,  when,  about  midnight,  a  male  and  female 
Indian  entered,  very  much  to  my  surprise.  I  had  mastered  enough  of  the 
Sioux  language  to  understand  the  purport  of  common  conversation,  and 
inquired  of  the  man  what  had  brought  him  to  my  room  at  that  untimely 
hour.  He  took  his  companion  by  the  hand,  and  led  her  to  my  bedside,  and 
I  recognized  in  her  the  good-looking  young  daughter  of  the  Indian  before 
me,  who  was  a  sub-chief  of  one  of  the  lower  bands.  He  commenced  by  say- 
ing that  he  was  about  to  depart  to  make  his  winter  hunt,  many  days'  march 
away,  and  would  not  return  till  late  in  the  spring,  and,  as  he  did  not  wish 
to  expose  his  young  daughter  to  hardship  and  suffering,  he  had  decided  to 
ask  me  to  take  her  iu  charge.  The  poor  girl,  meantime,  stood  there  waiting 
my  reply,  having  covered  her  head  with  the  blanket  she  wore.  I  excused 
myself  to  the  father,  telling  him  it  would  be  wrong  in  me  to  comply  with 
his  offer,  that  I  had  no  intention  of  taking  to  myself  an  Indian  maiden  for  a 
wife,  for  many  reasons  I  could  not  explain  to  him,  except  the  one  he  could 
most  easily  comprehend,  viz.,  th£^  it  would  make  all  the  other  Indians  and 
their  families  dissatisfied  and  jealous.  He  was  obliged  to  submit  to  my 
categorical  negative  to  his  proposition,  and  retired  with  his  youthful  pro- 
geny, both  disappointed  at  the  ill  success  of  their  mission.  It  must  not  be 
supposed,  from  the  Indian  point  of  view,  that  there  was  anything  savoring 
of  immorality  in  the  proceeding  I  have  narrated.  It  was  considered  a  lauda- 
ble ambition,  on  the  part  of  a  Sioux  girl,  to  capture  a  respectable  white 
man,  and  become  his  wife,  without  any  legal  ceremony,  but  the  connection 
was  regarded  as  equally  obligatory  on  both  parties,  and  in  many  cases, 
indeed,  ended  only  with  the  death  of  one  of  them.  Female  virtue  was  held 
in  as  high  estimation  among  the  Sioux  bands  in  their  wild  state  as  by  the 
whites,  and  the  line  between  the  chaste  and  the  demi-monde  was  well  de- 
fined. "^ 

For  nine  years,  without  interruption,  or  from  A.  D.  1834 
to  A.  D.  1843,  the  year  of  Mr.  Sibley's  marriage,  he  lived  his 
bachelor's  life  at  St.  Peters,  pursuing  zealously  the  interests 
of  the  Fur  company,  of  which  he  was  the  head,  in  the  North- 
west. The  long  winter  nights  afforded  ample  opportunity  for 
study  as  well  as  for  amusement,  and  the  indulgence  of  liter- 
ary pursuits,  of  which  Mr.  Sibley  seemed  to  be  as  fond,  in 
their  place,  as  he  was  of  a  sportsman's  life  in  its  place.  His 
library,  though  not  extensive,  was  yet  furnished  with  such 
works  as  enabled  him  to  continue  and  follow  up  the  Greek 
and  Latin  classical,  and  the  legal,  instruction  he  had  received 
in  Detroit.  The  English  classics;  the  standard  French  writers 
with  whose  language  he  was  familiar;  Gibbon,  Hume,  Eollin, 
and  others  in  both  ancient  and  modern  history;  full  sets  of 
Cooper's  and  Scott's  historical  novels;  Blackstone,  Coke, 
Kent;  and,  in  ecclesiastical  history,  Mosheim,  with  some  con- 


1  Manuscript  Autobiography,  p.  57. 


62  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

troversial  works  on  religious  doctrines  aad  forms  of  worship; 
these  constituted  substantially  the  select  and  valuable  library 
of  this  young  pioneer.  The  transportation  of  such  effects  had 
been  by  river.  It  was  the  study  of  such  works  and  masters 
as  these  which  gave  to  Mr.  Sibley  an  excellence  of  expres- 
sion, perfection  of  literary  style,  and  facility  in  literary 
composition,  which  subsequently  attracted  the  attention  of 
cultivated  men,  and  displayed  itself  not  only  in  matchless 
articles  to  the  sporting  and  other  Eastern  magazines,  journals, 
and  papers,  describing  the  terra  incognita  of  the  Northwest,  its 
Indian  life,  and  hunting  grounds,  its  beauties  and  its  possibili- 
ties, and  awaking  the  admiration,  interest,  and  enthusiasm 
of  thousands  who  ere  long  flocked  to  these  wilds  to  find  a 
home,  but  which,  furthermore,  shewed  itself  in  articles  of  the 
first  literary  value  written  for  the  State  Historical  Society, 
and  again  in  the  messages  and  other  documents  that  he  pre- 
pared, when,  subsequently,  be  became  governor  of  the  state, 
a,nd  also  in  the  speeches,  to  which  charmed  ears  listened  dur- 
ing his  presence  in  the  National  Congress.  Business  was  not 
allowed  so  to  absorb  his  entire  time  as  to  leave  nothing  for 
other  equally  important  interests.  It  is  a  sore  loss  to  the  state 
that  the  priceless  productions  from  a  pen  so  polished,  and  a 
mind  so  full  of  romantic  culture  and  enthusiasm, — j)roduc- 
tions  descriptive  of  the  wide  country  he  had  traveled  while 
it  was  a  wilderness  and  uninhabited, — should  not  yet  have 
been  collected  and  published  at  the  state  expense.  In  the 
light  of  astounding  changes  since  then,  such  documents  could 
only  afford  the  greatest  pleasure  as  well  as  excite  the  pro- 
foundest  interest  of  new  generations,  to  whom  the  pioneers  of 
the  Northwest,  and  the  life  of  the  tribes  of  the  red  man,  once 
the  undisputed  owners  of  the  great  domain,  are  unknown. 

As  to  Mr.  Sibley's  religious  life  at  this  time,  it  manifested 
itself  in  his  associations  with  those  more  advanced  in  religious 
experience  and  work.  Among  the  officers  of  the  fort,  and 
their  wives,  were  some  of  ''noble  and  devout  Christian  char- 
acter." His  early  religious  training,  by  a  mother  whose  praise 
was  on  the  tongues  of  all,  had  not  forsaken  him.  He  had 
made  a  i)uV)lic  profession  of  his  I'aith  while  at  Mackinac,  1830, 
in  the  companionship  of  tliat  rarest  among  men,  Robert  Stu- 
art, uniting  with  the  only  church  in  that  place,  the  First  Pres- 
byterian, whose  pastor  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ferry,  father  of  ex- 
United  States  Senator  Ferry  of  Michigan.     "My  early  reli- 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  63 

gious  training,"  says  he,  "had so  firmly  impressed  me  with  the 
truths  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  of  Christian  doctrine  as 
enunciated  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  that  I  was  con- 
tent to  take  them  as  divinely  inspired,  and  as  such  they  consti- 
tuted a  perfect  rule  of  life  for  the  guidance  and  conduct  of 
Christians,  irrespective  of  forms  of  church  government  and 
theological  disputes,  which  have  torn  Christendom  into  so 
many  sects,  and  which,  for  ages,  have  been  prolific  of  dissen- 
sion and  intolerance,  disgraceful  in  the  eyes  of  the  outside 
world,  and  in  direct  and  irrepressible  conflict  with  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Prince  of  Peace."  Broad-minded  and  ready  to 
co-operate  with  all  Christians  for  the  common  good,  he  found 
it  easy,  not  merely  to  attend  divine  service,  hearing  sermons 
read  by  Colonel  Gustavus  Loomis,  an  officer,  distinguished, 
like  Colonel  Gardiner  or  General  Havelock,  for  his  piety,  but 
to  enter  as  a  constituent  member  into  the  first  church  organi- 
zation known  to  the  vast  missionary  region  where  he  dwelt. 
In  June,  1835,  the  year  of  the  arrival  of  Rev.  T.  S.  Williamson, 
M.D.,  missionary  among  the  Dakotas,  and  of  his  associate, 
Mr.  Huggins,  a  church  was  formed  within  the  walls  of  Fort 
Snelling.  In  one  of  the  compauy  rooms  of  the  fort,  twenty 
whites,  consisting  of  military  officers,  Indian  missionaries,  and 
those  engaged  in  the  fur  trade,  were  assembled  by  Dr.  Will- 
iamson on  the  Sabbath  day,  and,  upon  the  calling  of  their 
names,  ''the  company  stood  up,  in  presence  of  the  assembled 
soldiers,  entered  into  church  covenant,  and  elected  elders 
who  were  set  apart  in  accordance  with  the  solemn  ordination 
service  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  the  communion  being 
administered  at  the  close  of  the  service.^"  Of  the  session, 
thus  formed,  Mr.  Sibley  was  one,  and  remained  as  clerk  of  the 
same  for  several  years,  the  church,  like  the  ambulating  taber- 
nacle in  the  wilderness,  moving  first  to  one  place,  then  another, 
now  at  Lake  Harriet,  and  now  at  Minnetonka,  its  little  mem- 
bership perpetually  changing,  until  it  settled,  finally,  as  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Minneapolis^  its  early  records  fol- 
lowing the  fortunes  of  its  itinerant  development, — Mr.  Sibley 
still  residing  at  St.  Peters.  With  the  arrival  of  Rev.  Ezekiel 
Gear  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  as  United  States  Chaplain  at 
the  fort,  Mr.  Sibley  continued  to  attend  the  regular  religious 
services  there  established,  still  contributing,  however,  to  the 
needs  of  the  First  Church,  whenever  called  upon,  and  so  con- 

1  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  4.37,  438. 


64  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 


tinned  till  1856-1857,  when  the  Episcopal  parish  of  St.  Paul 
was  established,  and  the  Eev.  Andrew  B.  Patterson  of  New 
Jersey,  to  whose  devoted  labors  it  owed  its  rapid  prosperity, 
was  elected  as  its  rector,  Mr.  Sibley  assisting  in  his  support, 
though  having  built,  at  his  own  expense,  the  church  edifice 
at  St.  Peters,  the  first  Protestant  church  ever  erected  in 
Minnesota,  west  of  the  Mississippi  river.  In  future  years, 
when  removing  his  residence  from  Mendota  (St.  Peters)  to 
St.  Paul,  as  the  commanding  officer  of  the  military  district 
of  Minnesota,  1862,  his  location  in  the  city,  and  his  rela- 
tions to  the  enterprise  he  had  contributed  to  sustain,  natu- 
rally drew  him  to  identify  himself  with  the  Episcopal 
Church,  the  church  of  his  father's  family,  and  of  his  early 
associations  in  Detroit.  He  was  at  once  elected  a  vestry- 
man of  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church,  and  still  retains  that 
office  to  the  present  time.  Of  the  missionaries,  already  named, 
and  also  of  Eevs.  Samuel  W.  Pond  and  Gideon  H.  Pond,  at 
Lake  Calhoun,  and  Rev.  S.  E.  Riggs,  at  Traverse  des  Sioux, 
the  advance  guard  in  missionary  work,  and  of  the  stations  at 
Yellow  Medicine,  Redwood,  or  Lower  Indian  Agency,  and 
other  like  enterprises,  the  published  writings  of  Mr.  Sibley 
speak  in  the  highest  terms.  A  friend  of  the  missionaries,  he 
interested  himself  in  all  their  movements.  Among  the  Catho- 
lics, as  pioneers  in  this  work,  he  refers  to  Father  Galtier, 
stationed  at  St.  Peters,  1840,  and  Father  Ravoux,  1841, 
afterward  vicar  general  of  the  diocese  of  St.  Paul,  and  to  the 
Right  Rev.  M.  Cretin,  subsequently  bishop  of  St.  Paul,  in  the 
warmest  terms,  bearing  his  testimony  to  the  "devotion,  zeal, 
learning,  and  faithful  labors  of  Protestant  and  Catholic  alike," 
with  all  of  whom  he  was  on  the  most  familiar  terms.  As  to 
the  primitive  character  and  condition  of  the  red  man  in  our 
Northern  continent,  Mr.  Sibley  himself  has  given  a  fine  descrip- 
tion in  one  of  his  annual  addresses  to  the  Minnesota  Historical 
Society,  February  1,  1856,  and  quotes  Sir  Archibald  Alison's 
picture  of  the  North  American  Indian,  though  partial,  with 
great  approval,  the  historian  saying,  "The  North  American 
Indian  is  ncdther  the  child  of  Japhet,  daring,  industrious, 
indcfatigabU^,  exploring  the  world  by  his  enterprise,  and  sub- 
duing it  by  his  exertions;  nor  the  offspring  of  Ishmael,  sober, 
ardent,  enduring,  traversing  the  desert  on  his  steed  and  issu- 
ing forth  iit  appointed  intervals  from  his  solitudes  to  punish 
and   regenerate  mankind.     He  is  the  hunter  of  the  forest, 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  65 

skilled  to  perfection  in  the  craft  necessary  for  that  primitive 
occupation,  but  incapable  of  advancing  beyond  it.  Civiliza- 
tion in  vain  endeavored  to  throw  its  fetters  over  his  limbs. 
He  avoids  the  smiling  plantation,  and  flies  in  horror  before 
the  hatchet  of  the  advancing  woodsman.  He  does  well  to 
shun  the  approach  of  the  European  race.  He  can  neither 
endure  fatigue,  nor  withstand  temptation,  and  faster  than 
before  the  sword  and  the  bayonet  his  race  is  melting  under 
the  ^fire-water,'  the  first  gift  and  last  curse  of  civilization. ^  " 
Of  the  number  and  character  of  the  Indian  bands  among 
whom  Mr.  Sibley  was  called  to  operate,  and  with  whom  he 
held  an  almost  daily  intercourse,  as  chief  of  the  American 
Fur  Company  in  the  Northwest,  for  nearly  twenty  years,  this 
is  the  place  to  speak.  Whatever  other  tribes  occasionally 
tarried  in  portions  of  Minnesota,  yet  the  region  belonged,  by 
hereditary  possession,  to  the  Sioux  or  Dakotas,  as  their 
peculiar  hunting  ground.  According  to  the  accounts  given 
of  the  Dakotas  by  Dr.  E-iggs  in  his  "Introduction,"  and  by 
Mr.  Sibley  in  his  manuscript  notes  and  published  explana- 
tions, the  Dakotas  say  their  name  means  the  "League"  or 
"Allied,"  and  speak  of  themselves  as  the  "Seven  Council 
Fires"  (Ochetisakoivin).     Their  divisions  are: 

(1)  MdewaJcantonivans,  "Village  of  the  Spirit  Lake,"  a 
name  derived  from  a  former  residence  at  Mdewakan,  "Spirit 
or  Sacred  Lake,"  "Mille  Lacs,"  in  the  country  now  claimed 
by  the  Ojibwas.  They  were  distributed  into  seven  principal 
villages.  Three  of  these  were  on  the  western  bank  of  the 
Mississippi  (Chief  Wapashaio);  at  Eed  Wing  (Chief  Wacoota)-, 
at  Kaposia  (Chief  Little  Grow,  or  Ta-ioai  o-pa-doo-tah).  The 
rest  were  at  different  points  on  the  Minnesota,  twenty-five  or 
thirty  miles  above  Fort  Snelling;  viz.,  Magayuta,  "Goose- 
eaters;"  Black  Dog,  three  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river; 
Fin-e-shaw,  "Good -road,"  seven  miles;  Huycqiaw,  "  Eagle - 
head,"  fourteen  miles;  Shakopee,  twenty-five  miles.  The  Lake 
Calhoun  band  was  a  part  of  the  Pin-e-shaw  following;  in  all 
2,000  souls. 

(2)  Wahpekutas,  "Leaf  Shootei*s,"  claiming  the  country 
on  the  Cannon  river;  a  roving  band  of  five  or  six  hundred, 
divided  by  two  rival  chiefs,  Wah-mun-di-doo-ta,  the  "Red 
Eagle,"  and  Ta-smiga,  "the  Cane." 


1  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  I,  p.  459. 
5 


66  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

(3)  WaJqjetonwanSj  "Village  in  the  Leaves,"  a  name  de- 
rived from  their  former  residence  in  the  woods,  but  now 
dwelling  at  Lac  qui  Parle  and  Little  Eapids;  1,200  popu- 
lation. 

(4)  Sissitomoans,  "Village  of  the  Marsh."  They  occupied 
the  Minnesota  valley  from  Traverse  des  Sioux  to  Little  Eock, 
claiming  the  Swan  Lake  country  on  the  one  side,  and  the 
Blue  Earth  region  on  the  other  side,  of  the  Minnesota  river, 
the  great  body  of  them  moving  northward  and  westward,  and 
making  their  corn-fields  around  Lake  Traverse  and  Big  Stone 
lake;  a  population  of  about  2,500. 

(5)  IhanMoirana,  one  of  the  "End  of  the  Village"  bands, 
estimated  at  four  hundred  lodges,  or  4,000  souls.  The  Dakotas 
on  the  Minnesota  river  averaged  not  more  than  six  inmates 
to  a  lodge,  while  on  the  prairie,  where  the  material  for  tents 
was  abundant,  yet  tent  poles  being  scarce,  they  averaged  about 
ten.  The  Ihanktowana  were  divided  into  the  Hunk-pa-ti-dans, 
the  Pah-bak-fie,  or  "Cut  Heads,"  the  Wah-zi-ku-te,  or  "Pine 
Shooters,"  and  the  Ki-yuk-sas,  or  "Dividers,"  i.  e.  "Law 
Breakers."  Their  range  was  along  the  James  river  and  on 
the  north  of  the  Missouri  as  far  up  as  Devil's  lake.  From  the 
Wah-zi-ku-te  branch  of  this  division  sprang  the  Assinniboines, 
or  Ho-he,  of  the  Dakotas,  who,  revolting,  joined  the  Crees 
and  other  bands  with  whom  the  Dakotas  were  at  war. 

(6)  Ihanktoicans,  the  other  of  the  ' '  End  of  Village ' '  bands, 
estimated  at  two  hundred  and  forty  lodges,  or  2,400  souls. 
They  were  usually  found  west  of  the  Missouri  and  the  two 
related  bands  were  described  by  the  general  name  Yanktons. 

(\)  Titonwans,  "Village  of  the  Prairies,"  numerically 
equal  to  one-half  of  the  entire  Dakota  tribe,  claiming  about 
1,250  lodges,  or  12,500  souls.  They  lived  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Missouri,  and  reached  to  beyond  the  Black  Hills.  They 
were  divided  into  seven  bands,  viz.,  the  Sie-an-gu,  or  "Burnt 
Thighs,"  the  U-ta-gi-pe,  or  "Bow  Pith,"  the  Si-ha-sa-pa,  or 
"Black  Feet,"  the  Mini-kan-ye-ico-gu-jn,  or  "Who  Plant  by 
the  Water,"  the  Oohe-nom-pa,  or  "Two  Boilings,"  or  "Two 
Kettles,"  and  Og-lal-la  and  Hunk-pa-pa,  the  meaning  of  which 
is  uncertain. 

Such  the  native  warriors  among  whose  society  the  lot  of 
Mr.  Sibley  was  cast,  and  the  combined  force  of  which,  save 
the  Titonwans,  lie  had  to  contend  against  in  after  years,  all 
the  rest,   save  the  upper  Sissitonwans,    implicated    in    the 


HON.  HENRY    HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  G7 

bloody  massacre  of  1862.  Most  warlike  and  passionate  of  all 
the  Indian  tribes  upon  the  continent  were  the  Sioux  or  Dako- 
tas,  yet  not  without  many  noble  traits  of  character.  A  terror 
to  all  the  rest,  and  scourge  of  their  neighbors,  their  hereditary 
foes  were  the  Ojibwas  (Chippewas),  between  whom  and  them- 
selves existed,  as  Mr.  Sibley  notes,  ''a  hate  bitter  as  that  of 
Hamilcar  to  the  Roman  name,  Chippewa  against  Dakota 
and  Dakota  against  Chippewa,"  sanguinary,  implacable, 
eternal.  ^ 

Of  all  these,  "Old  Wapashaw,"  long  dead,  was  the  heredi- 
tary chief  of  greatest  influence  among  the  people  of  the  lakes, 
his  word  being  law,  not  alone  with  his  own  band,  but  with 
all  other  bands  belonging  to  the  same  division.  "Little 
Crow,  Sr.,"  father  of  "Little  Crow,  Jr.,"  who  afterward 
figured  in  the  great  massacre  of  1862,  was  also  held  in  high 
esteem  by  his  band  at  Kaposia,  and  favored  the  progress  of 
the  red  man  toward  the  white  man's  civilization  as  a  matter 
of  necessity.  At  their  first  acquaintance,  all  the  Dakota 
bands  were  friendly  to  the  whites,  and  it  was  a  rare  occur- 
ence for  the  latter  to  be  molested  in  person  or  in  property 
while  traversing  their  country.  Notwithstanding  their  war- 
like disposition,  their  relation  to  the  white  man  was  ever  that 
of  amity  until  provoked  to  deeds  which  justice  and  kindness 
could  easily  have  averted.  In  some  respects  they  were  in 
advance  of  the  white  man's  boasted  Christian  culture,  especi- 
ally in  the  observance  of  the  rules  and  laws  of  natural  moral- 
ity. They  were  so  honest  that  it  was  regarded  as  disgraceful 
for  a  warrior  to  steal.  The  door  of  the  white  man  was  seldom 
locked,  and  articles  of  costly  value,  coveted  and  prized  by  the 
red  man,  were,  while  still  exposed  and  unprotected,  by  night 
as  by  day,  yet  safe  as  if  secured  by  prison  bolt  and  guard. 
The  thief  was  deemed  unworthy  to  be  a  warrior,  and  ostracized 
because  of  his  propensities.  Female  chastity  was  a  notable 
characteristic  among  the  Sioux  bands,  and  the  violator  of  this 
virtue  was  an  outcast  subject  to  all  insult  and  humiliation. 
The  "Virgin  Feast,"  a  sacred  institution  among  the  Indian 
bands,  and  a  test  of  private  purity,  was  ever  closed  against 
the  sad  unfortunate  whose  life  forbade  her  entrance  to  it.  The 
care  of  widows  and  of  orphans  was  felt  to  be  a  duty.  Deprived 
by  death  of  their  protectors,  they  became  an  object  of  the 
common  charity,  and  shared  the  comforts  of  the  camp  and 

1  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  I,  p.  460. 


68  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

their  full  proportion  of  the  spoils  and  products  of  the  chase. 
A  sense  of  natural  justice  and  of  truth  was  everywhere  re- 
spected and  admired,  and  stood  in  rank  co-equal  with  that 
sense  of  inborn  courage  apart  from  which  the  Indian  was  ac- 
counted unfit  to  live.  As  to  their  religion,  it  was  that  of  in- 
ferior form  known  to  untutored  tribes,  being,  inlarge  part, 
of  the  fetish  sort.  Neither  polytheists  nor  monotheists,  they 
yet  believed  in  the  existence  of  a  "  Gitche  Manitou,^^  or  "  Good 
Spirit,"  every  where  present,  and  a  multitude  of  minor  spirits 
dwelling  in  trees,  oval-shaped  stones  and  sticks,  whose  kindly 
offices  they  could  propitiate  by  ample  sacrifices  of  tobacco  and 
other  trifling  articles,  and  thus  protect  themselves  against 
disease,  disaster,  and  death.  The  belief  of  a  future  state, 
so  often  attributed  to  them,  in  which  luxuriant  hunting 
grounds  are  adjudged  to  the  good,  but  wild  wastes  to  the  bad, 
had  no  existence  in  the  breast  of  a  Dakota.  Their  impres- 
sions of  a  life  beyond  this  were  at  best  but  "shadowy,  uncer- 
tain, and  unsatisfactory."  1 

Such  were  some  of  the  chief  virtues,  and  such  the  religion 
and  tribal  condition,  that  characterized  the  Dakotas  in  their 
primitive  state,  before  their  demoralization  began,  in  1837, 
when  the  United  States  acquired  lands  east  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  the  Dakotas  became  iwoteges,  by  treaty,  of  a  ^'■paternal 
government^''  whose  officials  swindled  them  at  every  step,  cor- 
rupted them  at  every  point  of  contact,  enraged  them  to  deeds 
of  revenge,  and  made  them  heirs  of  the  white  man's  crimes 
and  abominations.  The  "philanthropy"  by  which  the  red 
man  was  to  be  lifted  up  from  his  so  called  degradation,  as  a 
savage,  and  placed  on  a  level  with  the  Christian  son  of  Japhet, 
wiis  a  fruit  that  turned  to  ashes  in  his  mouth,  and  the 
"civilization"  that  pledged  superior  condition  and  varied 
blessing  "left  him  a  stranded  wreck  in  the  great  ocean  of 
existence."^ 

The  true  character  of  the  early  Indian  traders,  at  the  head 
of  so  many  of  whom  Mr.  Sibley  was  placed,  must  not  be  con- 
founded with  that  of  government  officials,  so  often  responsi- 
ble for  Indian  outrages,  nor  with  a  reputed  character  fastened 
ui)on  the  traders  either  from  malice,  suspicion,  or  ignorance. 
From  the  very  beginning,  when,  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago,  Jean  Nicollet,  a  young  Frenchman,  and  interpreter 


1  Minn.  Hisf.  Coll.,  Vol.  I,  p.  4(50. 

2  Mr.  Sililcy.    Minn.  Hlal.  Coll.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  320. 


HON.   HENRY    HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  69 

for  a  Canadian  fur  company,  first  set  foot  on  the  soil  of  what 
is  now  Minnesota,  and  Canada  became  the  chief  nursery  for 
bold  and  hardy  explorers,  the  men  who  devoted  their  lives 
to  such  pursuits  were  marked  by  strong  and  peculiar  features. 
It  was  remarkably  so  in  the  case  of  the  Minnesota  pioneers. 
Despising  the  comforts  of  home,  and  inspired  with  the  love 
of  adventure,  excitement  of  new  scenes,  and  hope  of  new  dis- 
coveries more  than  a  prospect  of  gain,  and  fascinated,  in  the 
vigor  of  youth  and  prime  of  life,  with  a  freedom  beyond  the 
restraints  of  law,  determined  and  civilized  modes  of  action, 
they  periled  their  whole  existence  in  devotion  to  that  which,  in 
all  ages  and  in  all  lands,  has  been  regarded  as  meritorious  in 
the  highest  degree,  and  worthy  of  lasting  fame.  They  were  the 
hardy  van-couriers  of  human  progress,  carrying  into  the  heart 
of  untrodden  wilds  the  seeds  of  a  new  order  of  things,  germs 
of  a  new  development,  destined  to  spring  and  bloom  and  bear 
fruitage  of  blessing  to  the  latest  generations.  Of  different 
nationalities,  they  yet  all  belonged  to  that  ^'■Audax  Japeti 
Genus,' ^  of  which  Horace  speaks,  a  race  who,  with  triple  brass 
around  the  heart,  could  encounter  the  surging  deeps  and 
leap  the  watery  barriers  that  separate  lands  and  tribes  and 
nations  and  tongues,  exploring  the  vast  unknown,  scaling  the 
mountain,  delving  the  rock,  prostrating  the  forest,  subduing 
the  savage,  even  assaulting  the  sky,  and  on  whose  indomitable 
energy,  skill,  and  unbounded  courage,  has  been  built  the 
world-wide  maxim,  ^^ Ml  ardimm  est  mortal ibus,'' — "For  mor- 
tals, nothing  too  hard!"  Compelled  to  subsist,  and  lawfully 
taking  advantage,  not  only  of  hunting  and  fishing,  but  of 
trade  offered  by  Indians,  they  conducted  with  honor,  while 
enduring  with  joyful  spirit  their  self-imposed  hardships,  a 
business  whose  benefits  all  the  world  has  shared.  Among  these 
were  such  men  as  a  Joseph  Brown  and  Joseph  Renville,  a 
Louis  Provencalle  and  Louis  Laframboise,  the  two  Faribaults, 
Alexis  Bailly,  Norman  W.  Kittson,  Franklin  Steele,  Henry 
M.  Rice,  Wells,  Prescott,  Forbes,  McDonald,  Morrison,  Beau- 
lieu,  Oakes,  Borup,  and  other  prominent  traders,  sketches  of 
whom  have  been  given  by  Mr.  Sibley  in  various  productions 
at  various  times.  ^ 

An  impression  widely  spread  for  a  time,  and  injurious  to 
the  good  name  of  the  Indian  traders  and  early  settlers  of 
Minnesota,  Mr.  Sibley  has  felt  it  his  duty  to  correct  and  repel 

1  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  465-470;  Vol.'III,  Part  2,  pp.  244-250. 


70  ANCESTEY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

the  false  accusation  that  they  were  men  of  dishonesty,  fraud, 
and  villainy  of  every  conceivable  dimension,  intent  only  on 
traffic,  lust,  and  blood,  at  whatever  cost.  Of  whatever  trans- 
gression and  crimes  the  later  generations  of  men  who  have 
come  to  Minnesota,  bent  upon  high  speculation,  rapid  gain, 
and  immense  fortunes,  unscrupulous  as  to  the  means  employed, 
the  early  settlers  of  Minnesota  are  not  amenable  to  such 
accusation.  If  here  and  there,  some  unprincipled  trader  was 
found,  or  man  of  untruth  and  dishonor  employed,  yet  that 
such  was  the  character  of  the  Indian  traders,  the  voyageurs^ 
the  early  settlers,  and  pioneers  of  the  State  of  Minnesota, 
seems  to  be  a  venomous  libel,  exceptionally  false.  Mr.  Sibley 
shall  refute,  in  his  own  words,  this  calumny  so  undeserved: 

"  Perhaps  nobody  of  men  have  ever  been  so  misunderstood  and  misrepre- 
sented as  those  of  which  the  Indian  trader  was  a  component  part.  To  them 
have  been  ascribed  not  only  all  the  evils  and  outrages  that  are  the  accom- 
paniments of  frontier  life  where  law  is  unfelt  and  unknown,  but  fraud  and 
villainy  of  every  conceivable  description.  The  very  accusations,  however, 
contain  their  own  refutation.  With  too  much  self-respect  to  contradict 
charges  so  absurd,  and  with  an  undue  contempt  for  public  opinion,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  scarcely  a  voice  has  been  raised,  or  a  pen  wielded,  in  his 
behalf.  An  unwritten  chapter  yet  to  be  contributed  to  the  records  of  the 
Northwest  will  place  the  Indian  trader  in  a  proper  light  before  the  country, 
while  it  seeks  to  extenuate  neither  his  defects  nor  his  vices.  These  traders 
were  a  class  of  men  distinct  from  all  others  in  modes  of  thought  and  life, 
and  cannot,  therefore,  be  justly  measured  by  the  standard  which  obtains  in 
civilized  communities.  For  the  most  part,  they  were  men  of  little  or  no 
education,  but  of  remarkable  energy  and  rare  fidelity  to  their  engagements. 
The  whole  system  of  Indian  trade  was  based  upon  the  personal  integrity  of 
employer  and  employed,  the  former  generally  residing  hundreds  and  even 
thousands  of  miles  distant  from  the  place  of  trade,  and  furnishing  large 
amounts  of  merchandise  to  his  agent  or  clerk,  for  which  he  held  no  security 
but  his  plighted  faith.  With  the  requisite  number  of  men  to  perform  the 
labor  of  transporting  his  goods  and  supplies  in  bark  canoes,  this  trusty  indi- 
vidual wended  his  way,  in  August  or  September,  to  the  scene  of  operations, 
where  he  erected  his  wintering  house,  furnished  his  Indians  with  necessary 
clothing  and  ammunition,  and  dispatched  them  to  their  hunts.  In  many 
cases  his  principal  could  obtain  no  knowledge  of  his  movements  until  his 
return  in  the  .spring  with  the  fruit  of  his  exchanges.  If  a  clerk,  he  was 
paid  the  amount  of  his  salary  as  agreed  upon.  If  trading  on  his  own  account, 
the  sum  of  liis  peltries  was  made  up,  and  the  difference  between  it  and  the 
invoi<-e  of  goods  fnrnislu^d  him  added  to  the  wages  of  his  men,  which  were 
always  paid  l)y  the  principal,  told  the  .story  of  his  profit  or  loss.  Furs 
being  of  no  intrinsic  value,  but  entirely  subject  to  the  fluctuations  of  fash- 
ion, it  often  happened  that  a  poor  trader  posse.ssed  of  an  unusual  number  of 
skins  of  fur-bearing  animals  and  hoping  to  make  money  by  the  winter's 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  71 

operations,  had  that  hope  dispelled  by  finding  that  prices  had  gone  down  to 
a  low  figure,  and  that  he  had  plunged  himself  into  debt.  In  such  cases  the 
sufterer  consoled  himself  with  the  thought  that  next  season  would  show  a 
different  result,  and  so  he  returned  to  his  wintering  ground,  by  no  means  a 
despondent  man. 

"While  departure  from  strict  honesty  was  of  rare  occurrence  between 
principal  and  clerk,  no  scruples  were  I'elt  in  taking  any  advantage  of  an 
opponent  in  trade,  whether  fair  or  unfair.  A  state  of  warfare  always  exis- 
ted between  rival  establishments  in  the  Indian  country,  save  in  times  of 
sickness  or  scarce  provisions,  when  hostilities  ceased,  and  the  opposite  party 
came  to  the  rescue  of  those  in  distress,  and  afforded  every  assistance  possi- 
ble. Such  exhibitions  of  qualities  so  contradictory  were  characteristic  of  all 
the  old  class  of  Indian  traders. 

"In  times  of  sickness  among  the  Indians  themselves,  the  trader  was  to 
them  a  ministering  angel.  No  one  was  sent  away  unrelieved  so  long  as  his 
stores  lasted.  The  consequence  of  such  generosity  bore  its  legitimate  fruit. 
The  reliance  of  the  savage  upon  his  trader  became  in  course  of  time  almost 
without  limit,  and  he  took  no  important  step  without  first  consulting  him. 
The  white  man  was  the  confidant  of  his  joys  and  his  sorrows,  and  his  influ- 
ence was  augmented  in  proportion,  an  influence  sometimes  used  to  accom- 
plish selfish  and  unworthy  purposes,  but  more  frequently  employed  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Indian  himself.  As  the  trader  received  his  goods  on  credit, 
at  a  stipulated  price  above  cost,  either  from  individual  merchants  or  from 
associations,  so  in  turn  he  made  advances  to  the  Indian  hunters,  as  his 
knowledge  of  their  characters  for  honesty  and  skill  in  the  chase  justified  him 
in  so  doing.  The  system  of  credits  was  adopted  more  or  less  generally 
throughout  the  Northwest,  and  has  not  entirely  ceased  even  at  this  day,  but 
it  must  soon  come  to  an  end,  for  civilization,  with  all  its  blessings,  can 
afford  no  substitute  for  the  simple  Indian  trader  of  the  olden  time,  who, 
equally  with  honest  "  Leatherstocking,^'  shunued  the  society  of  his  fellow 
white  men,  and,  above  all,  despised  the  whole  machinery  of  law  ;  and  the 
contact  of  the  Indian  with  the  whites  had  so  far  demoralized  him  as  to  ren- 
der it  unsafe  to  trust  his  honesty."  ^ 

In  his  manuscript  autobiography,  Mr.  Sibley  returns  to 
the  same  theme,  with  evident  pleasure,  as  if  delighting  to 
resume  a  theme  on  which  he  was  so  well  qualified  to  speak. 
He  says : 

"It  affords  me  pleasure  to  bear  witness  to  the  fidelity  and  honesty  of 
the  Canadian  voyageur.  In  after  years,  when  at  the  head  of  a  district,  as 
partner  of  the  great  American  Fur  Company,  comprising  the  vast  region 
north  of  Lake  Pepin  to  the  British  boundary,  and  west  to  the  streams 
tributary  to  the  Missouri  river,  I  had  within  my  jurisdiction  hundreds  of 
traders,  clerks,  and  voyageurs,  almost  all  of  whom  were  Canadian  French, 
and  I  found  abundant  occasion  to  test  their  honesty  and  fidelity.  Goods 
amounting  to  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars,  nay  millions,  were  annually 
intrusted  to  men,  and  taken  to  Indian  posts,  more  or  less  remote,  with  no 
guarantee  of  any  return  except  the  honor  of  the  individual,  and  it  is  cred- 
1  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  462-466. 


72  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

itable  to  human  nature  that  these  important  trusts  were  seldom,  if  ever, 
abused.  It  may  seem  strange  that  men  of  education  and  culture  could  be 
induced  to  endure  the  hardships  incident  to  the  life  of  an  Indian  trader, 
and  yet  many  such  could  be  found  among  that  class.  The  love  of  money 
was  not  the  incentive,  for  rarely  did  the  trader  accumulate,  or  become 
wealthy.  There  was  a  fascination  in  such  a  career  which  once  entered  upon 
was  seldom  abandoned,  a  fascination  difficult  to  describe,  except  on  the 
theory  that  the  tendency  of  civilized  man  when  free  from  restraint  is  toward 
savagery  as  the  normal  condition  of  the  human  race.  There  was  a  charm 
in  the  fact  that  in  the  wild  region,  inhabited  only  by  savage  beasts  and  still 
more  savage  man,  one  was  liberated  from  all  trammels  of  society,  independ- 
ent and  free  to  act  according  to  his  pleasure,  and  moreover  to  be  regarded 
by  those  among  whom  he  was  thrown  as  a  superior  being,  their  friend  and 
their  counselor;  when  sickness  prevailed  to  prescribe  for  them,  in  hunger 
to  feed  them,  and  in  all  things  to  identify  himself  with  theii  interests,  and 
virtually  become  their  leader.  What  wonder,  then,  that  he  should  exercise 
so  potent  an  influence  with  this  wild  race!  "^ 

With  no  less  a  sense  of  justice,  and  clearness  and  beauty 
of  language,  the  same  gifted  pen  elsewhere  bears  testimony  to 
the  character  especially  of  the  early  settlers,  the  brave  prime 
pioneers,  of  Minnesota: 

"The  pioneers  of  Minnesota,  as  a  class,  were  far  superior  in  morality, 
education,  and  intelligence  to  the  pioneers  of  most  of  the  older  territories, 
and  they  have  left  a  favorable  impress  upon  the  character  of  the  state. 
They  were  by  no  means  free  from  the  vices  and  frailties  of  poor  humanity, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  were  for  the  most  part  distinguished  for  charity  to 
the  poor  and  friendless,  hospitable  even  to  a  fault,  and  enthusiastically 
devoted  to  the  interests  and  prospects  of  our  beautiful  Minnesota. 
Although,  generally  speaking,  men  of  limited  school  education,  there  were 
exceptions  to  this  rule,  individuals  being  found  among  them  of  respectable 
literary  attainments.  And  for  the  most  part  they  were  religiously  inclined. 
Men  who  are  brought  face  to  face  with  Nature  in  her  deepest  solitudes  are 
led  naturally  to  the  worship  of  that  Great  Being  whose  hand  alone  could 
have  created  the  vast  expanse  of  wood  and  prairie,  mountain,  lake,  and 
river,  which  spread  themselves  daily  in  endless  extent  and  variety  before 
their  eyes.  They  were  not  particularly  given  to  respect  law,  especially 
when  it  favored  the  speculator  at  the  expense  of  the  settler.  At  the  land 
sales,  on  the  falls  of  St.  Croix,  when  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  St.  Paul 
and  the  tracts  adjacent  ^hereto  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi  were 
exposed  to  public  sale.  I  was  selected  by  the  actual  settlers  to  bid  off  por- 
tions of  the  land  for  them,  and  when  the  hour  for  business  arrived  my  seat 
was  invariably  surrounded  by  a  number  of  men  with  huge  bludgeons. 
What  was  meant  by  the  proceeding  I  could  of  course  only  surmise,  but  I 
would  not  have  envied  the  fate  of  the  individual  who  would  have  ventured 
to  bid  against  me."^ 


1  ManuHcript  Autl)^)i(l^!^aplly,  p.  IS. 

•2  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  Ill,  Part  2,  p.  244. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  73 

These  excerpts  from  the  various  productions  of  Mr.  Sib- 
ley, taken  in  connection  with  previous  descriptions,  furnish  a 
fair  account  of  his  early  environment,  and  assist  us  to  make 
for  ourselves  a  complete  tableau  of  the  early  scenes  and 
society  in  the  midst  of  which  he  moved  as  the  central  figure, 
and  rehearsing  which  he  might  with  equal  propriety  and  jus- 
tice have  said,  "  Quorum  pars  magna  fuV^ 

The  romantic  incidents  that  illustrated  and  enlivened  the 
career  of  Mr.  Sibley,  in  the  role  of  an  Indian  hunter,  as  well 
as  in  that  of  the  fur  company's  general  inspector,  are  full  of 
interest  and  amusement.  The  year  1840  was  signalized  in 
this  respect  by  a  hunting  expedition  to  the  ''neutral  ground," 
sixty  miles  wide  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  long,  inter, 
posed  by  the  national  government  as  a  barrier  to  prevent  the 
collision  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  with  the  Dakotas,  a  theatre 
of  sport  two  hundred  miles  away  from  Mendota.  No  less  than 
seventy  days  were  required  for  this  adventure.  The  Dakota 
warriors  being  ready,  Mr.  Sibley,  with  his  friends,  Lieutenant 
John  C.  Fremont,  the  "Pathfinder,"  subsequently  general  in 
the  United  States  Army,  Alexander  Faribault,  W.  H.  Forbes, 
"Jack  Frazer,"  a  renowned  half-breed,  two  carts,  and  two  Can- 
adian voyageurs,  accompanied  them.  A  camp  of  seventy  lodges, 
with  over  one  hundred  men  and  their  families,  each  family 
having  one  or  more  ponies,  constituted  the  expedition.  Long 
poles  trailing  on  the  ground,  and  attached  to  the  sides  of  the 
ponies  with  an  extemporized  basket  of  leather  thongs  woven 
between  them,  baggage  in  the  basket,  and  children  surmount- 
ing the  whole,  all  wending  their  way,  Indian  file,  through  the 
snow,  presented  a  unique  and  primitive  appearance.  It  was 
a  sight  congenial  to  the  pioneer  spirit,  and  cheerful,  daring, 
and  adventurous  disposition,  of  young  Sibley.  The  older  men 
marched  in  the  van,  the  horses  and  ponies  were  led  by  the 
women,  the  line  extending  to  great  length,  the  women  acting 
as  porters,  according  to  the  Indian  rule  of  honor  which  for- 
bade the  warrior  such  a  service,  and  when  crossing  streams 
skimmed  with  ice,  water  waist-deep,  bearing  the  whole  bur- 
den of  the  camp  in  their  arms  and  on  their  heads.  When 
halting  for  the  night,  the  lodges  were  erected  by  the  women, 
the  ponies  turned  out  to  graze,  the  men  calmly  smoking 
their  pipes.  The  expedition  this  year  was  not  the  most  suc- 
cessful. Three  days  elapsing,  Mr.  Sibley  and  his  com- 
pany, parting  from  Forbes  and  the  two  Canadians,  struck  off 


74  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

from  the  Indian  camp,  and  ventured  upon  an  independent 
enterjjrise,  their  commissariat  a  few  pounds  of  wild  rice  and 
no  salt,  their  appetites  trusting  to  the  hope  of  securing  abun- 
dant game.  A  promise  to  return  in  twelve  days  was  made. 
Brought  near  starvation  on  the  fourth  day,  and  discovering 
an  infirm  old  stag  lying  in  the  grass  near  a  brook,  scarce  any- 
thing but  hide,  horns,  and  bones,  it  was  decided  to  have  mercy 
on  him,  "shoot  him  dead,"  and  satiate  their  hunger  by  a  culi- 
nary preparation  from  his  venerable  carcass.  Having  feasted, 
but  not  to  their  satisfaction,  although  an  improvement  on  the 
saltless  wild  rice,  they  went  recumbent  to  their  slumbers,  as 
night  came  on,  composing  their  wearied  limbs,  only  to  be 
aroused  by  the  roaring  of  the  flames,  some  miserable  savage 
having  set  fire  to  the  prairie  for  the  purposes  of  spectacular 
illumination.  On  the  fifth  day  the  "neutral  ground"  was 
sighted  and  soon  thereafter  reached,  Mr.  Sibley  and  his  guests 
having  turned  their  faces  thitherward.  Fremont,  disgusted 
with  the  toils  and  exposures  of  this  savage  mode  of  life,  pro- 
posed to  make  at  once  for  Prairie  du  Chien,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  distant,  Mr.  Sibley  agreeing  to  attend  him,  taking 
with  him  "Jack  Frazer,"  the  two  Canadians  and  their  horse 
carts,  and  promising  to  rejoin  the  expedition  in  twenty  days. 
Through  the  forests,  across  the  plains,  and  swimming  frozen 
streams,  these  hardy  men  pursued  their  way,  escaping  cap- 
ture by  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  and  arriving  safely  at  their 
destination,  where  Sibley  and  Fremont  parted  company. 
Eeturniug  after  twenty-eight  days  to  the  Indian  camp,  their 
presence  relieved  the  warriors  of  much  anxiety.  Starting  in 
two  days  more  for  Mendota,  Mr.  Sibley  at  last  reached  his 
home,  welcomed  warmly  not  only  by  the  villagers,  but  also  by 
the  entire  inhabitants  of  Fort  Snelling,  who  feared  that  some 
disaster  had  occurred,  or  sickness  or  death  had  overtaken 
him. 

The  year  1841  was  yet  more  eventful.  A  second  expedi- 
tion was  agreed  upon,  and  the  mode  of  its  inauguration  is  of 
special  interest  to  the  reader.  On  a  designated  day,  accord- 
ing to  the  usual  custom,  a  huge  feast  was  prepared  at  Men- 
dota, and  invitations  extended  to  the  men  of  the  Dakota  vil- 
lages to  come  and  ])artake.  The  menu  was,  of  course,  presumed 
to  be  sufficient,  and  women,  children,  and  babies,  prepared  to 
share  in  the  entertainment,  and  also  to  enlist  for  the  chase  so 
far  as  possible.     It  was  a  rare  occasion.     A  thousand  persons, 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  75 

of  all  kinds,  answered  to  the  call,  delighted  to  see  the  viands 
Mr.  Sibley's  capacity  had  provided  for  them.  The  gorging 
process  accomplished,  and  the  atmosphere  thickened  with  the 
fumes  of  the  calumet,  hundreds  of  small  sticks  painted  red 
were  distributed,  which,  when  voluntarily  accepted,  pledged 
the  receiver  to  be  bound  as  a  member  of  the  expedition,  sub- 
ject to  its  dangers  and  its  directions.  No  less  than  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  accepted  the  red  sticks.  A  commission  of  ten 
of  the  bravest  constituting  a  tribune  or  high  court,  both  of 
legislature  and  of  judicature,  was  appointed  and  assigned  to 
the  control  of  the  expedition,  the  government  of  the  camp, 
the  enactment  of  rules,  and  the  infliction  of  punishment  upon 
the  violators  of  the  same.  The  sixth  day  distant  was  decreed 
as  the  day  of  exodus  to  the  neutral  ground,  all  parties  to  be 
on  hand,  pitching  their  buffalo -skinned  tepees  on  a  spot  in 
the  rear  of  Mendota.  The  day  came;  one  family  was  missing. 
Instantly  a  posse  comitatus  from  the  tribune  sped  their  way, 
mounted  on  ponies,  to  the  delinquents'  village,  twelve  miles 
away,  and  reappeared  in  a  few  hours  with  the  man's  whole 
lodge  and  appurtenances,  packed  on  the  back  of  a  horse,  the 
man  walking  behind,  with  downcast  countenance,  his  family 
trudging  along  at  his  side.  Commiserated  by  the  high  court 
of  braves  and  by  the  tender  mercies  of  the  camp,  the  poor  vic- 
tim of  the  majesty  of  the  law  was  let  off  from  punishment  with 
a  solemn  charge  not  to  attempt  the  role  of  anarchy  a  second 
time,  nor  dare  again  to  evade  his  sacred  obligations,  or  tarnish 
his  word,  or  defile  the  sanctity  of  the  "red  stick,"  except  upon 
pain  of  exemplary  and  open  punishment.  The  signals  given, 
the  expedition  began  to  move;  rifles,  shotguns,  bows  and  arrows; 
paint,  plumes,  and  ponies,  horses,  carts,  and  trailing  poles, 
men,  women,  and  children,  all  lengthening,  serpent-like,  in 
tortuous  way,  and  in  Indian  file,  along  the  road.  Three  days 
subsequently,  Mr.  Sibley  and  his  company  set  out  and  over- 
took them  at  the  Cannon  river,  himself  and  his  party  coming 
at  once  under  the  new  jurisdiction,  where  there  was  ''  no  re- 
specter of  persons."  The  tribunal  determined  the  boundaries 
of  the  daily  chase,  forbidding  transgression  of  the  limits,  a 
precaution  needed  to  restrain  the  ardor  of  the  young  men, 
who  otherwise  would  have  overrun  the  country  and  fright- 
ened away  the  game.  The  law  was  severe,  an  unmerciful 
thrashing  sometimes  being  visited  upon  the  offender;  at  other 
times  the  ripping  of  his  tent  to  pieces,  kicking  of  his  crockery, 


76  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

breaking  of  his  kettles,  splitting  of  bis  wooden  bowls,  empty- 
ing his  larder,  and  tearing  off  his  garments,  frequently  leav- 
ing him  like  the  man  who  went  down  to  Jericho  and  fell  among 
thieves, — "beaten,  stripped,  and  half  dead!" 

None  of  woman  born  are  exempt  from  the  vicissitudes  of 
fortune.  It  fell  to  the  lot  of  Mr.  Sibley  to  be  numbered  with 
the  offenders,  the  chain  and  the  compass  not  being  used  to  fix 
with  accuracy  the  strict  line  of  delimitation,  as  nations  use  it 
when  adjusting  their  respective  boundaries.  Venturing  too 
near  the  fore-announced  border  of  the  chase,  a  warrior,  hid  in 
the  grass,  sprang  suddenly  from  his  ambush,  gave  the  regula- 
tion whoop,  and,  rushing  like  a  young  tempest  upon  the  unsus- 
pecting and  surprised  adventurer,  snatched  from  his  hands  his 
splendid  shotgun,  and,  lifting  it  high,  was  about  to  destroy 
it  with  a  descending  stroke.  Quickly  reminded  by  Mr.  Sib- 
ley that  the  destruction  of  such  guns,  hard  to  be  repaired,  and 
rarely  to  be  got,  was  unsoldierly,  and  a  loss  not  to  be  reme- 
died, the  warrior  restored  the  fowling-piece,  but  at  the  same 
time  snatched  the  fine  fur  cap  from  Mr.  Sibley's  head  with  the 
pleasing  announcement  that  the  wrath  of  the  tribune  would 
cyclone  his  tent  that  night  and  exact  atonement  for  his  trans- 
gression. It  is  a  scene  for  pity  and  amusement  both,  to  see 
the  future  orator  in  Congress,  and  governor  of  the  State  of 
Minnesota,  half- rigged  like  an  Indian,  on  this  occasion,  riding 
ten  miles  bare  headed,  thermometer  twenty  degrees  below 
zero,  ears,  nose,  scalp,  entire  face,  and  head,  stung  and  suffer- 
ing with  intense  cold,  icicles  dependant  like  oriental  jewels 
from  the  nostril,  and  hoar-frost  adorning  and  matting  the 
beard,  the  victim  of  the  new  jurisdiction  shivering  and  bob- 
bing homewai'd  renovare  dolorem  to  his  friend  Faribault,  and 
advise  as  to  what  was  best  to  be  done  in  view  of  the  impend- 
ing visitation  and  calamity.  Such  predicaments  excite  sym- 
pathy and  sometimes  provoke  smiles.  Beaching  his  splendid 
bufifalo-liided  lodge,  Mr.  Sibley  sought  counsel  from  his  friend. 
The  culinary  wisdom,  always  "  profitable  to  direct,"  and  some 
ethnological  experience,  soon  suggested  a  successful  pro- 
pliylactic  against  the  impending  wrath.  Gathering  the  entire 
contents  of  his  own  well-stored  larder,  Mr.  Sibley  prepared  a 
sumptuous  feast  of  fat  things,  and,  dispatching  messengers, 
extended  cordial  greetings  and  invitations  to  the  members  of 
the  high  court  to  repair  to  his  tent  and  partake  of  a  meal 
specially  provided  for  them,  in  view  of  their  fatigue,  and  the 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  77 

cold  day's  ride  they  all  had  experienced.  Accepting  the  wel- 
come message  and  entering  the  lodge,  they  devoured  every- 
thing before  them  except  their  guest,  highly  gratified  at  the 
hospitality,  their  pipes  being  loaded  with  tobacco,  each  offi- 
cial politely  presented  with  a  handsome  plug  of  the  same,  high 
eulogies  of  Indian  nobility  attending  the  ceremony.  The 
result  was  all  that  could  have  been  desired  except  the  loss  of 
so  much  excellent  provision.  The  splendid  tent  was  not  "rip- 
ped into  ribbons."  In  view  of  the  consideration  the  high 
court  had  received,  they  promised  not  to  molest  it.  The  fur 
cap  was  restored,  but  not  worn  again  for  some  time,  until  after 
a  satisfactory  shaking  and  the  necessary  fumigation! 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  narrate  the  incidents  in  Mr.  Sib- 
ley's Indian  career  without  destroying  the  narrative  itself, 
written,  as  it  is,  by  his  own  hand,  with  such  matchless  perfec- 
tion of  color,  taste,  and  style.  It  is  found  in  full  beauty,  in 
the  Minnesota  Historical  Collections,  to  which  the  present  writer 
is  so  much  indebted,  and  in  the  Wildwoods  Magazine,  where 
various  articles  and  reminiscences  of  his  early  life  are  pub- 
lished by  the  gifted  author,  and  notsurpassed  by  anything  that 
ever  came  from  the  pens  of  Frank  Forester,  Marryatt,  or 
Fennimore  Cooper.  It  is  but  the  merest  hint  of  this  so  admi- 
rably told  expedition  we  can  give,  and  the  reader  must  con- 
sult for  himself  the  original,  whence  our  information  has  been 
'  extracted. 

The  hunting  ground  once  reached,  the  winter  lodges  are 
at  once  erected,  the  camp  protected  by  a  chevaux  de  frise 
strongly  constructed,  and  both  difficult  and  dangerous  to  be 
pulled  down.  A  sort  of  fort,  it  was  loopholed  for  musketry, 
and  not  easily  stormed  by  the  enemy.  "Within  this  inclosure 
the  women  and  children  were  conscious  of  great  security, 
enjoying  the  winter  season  as  comfortably  as  at  home,  and 
guarded  by  men  of  advanced  years,  too  old  for  the  duties  and 
the  dangers  of  the  chase,  the  younger  ones  left  free  to  follow 
their  vocation.  As  to  the  mode  of  hunting  deer  among  the 
Dakotas,  Mr.  Sibley  informs  us,  with  the  same  particularity 
with  which  he  sketches  all  the  scenes  of  his  pioneer  life.  An 
extended  line,  with  eighty  or  one  hundred  yards  between  the 
hunters,  being  formed,  a  swift  advance  is  made,  completely 
scouring  the  whole  country.  The  slain  deer  remains  where  he 
fell  until  the  return  of  the  owner  who  shot  him.  The  skin  and 
the  hindquarters  become  the  property  of  the  hunter,   the 


78  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

remainder  being  in  equity  divided  among  the  less  successful, 
the  widows  and  the  orphans.  Owing  to  the  abundance  of 
game  during  the  period  of  this  expedition,  "  no  less  than  from 
twenty  to  thirty  deer  were  the  average  day's  hunt,  besides 
elk,  bear,  and  other  animals  killed  with  firearms,  and  beaver 
and  otter  taken  with  traps  by  men  who  were  past  the  age 
when  they  could  endure  the  exhausting  exercise  of  hunting. "^ 
During  the  whole  winter,  five  months  long,  from  October,  1841, 
to  March,  1842,  Mr.  Sibley  remained  with  the  hunters,  one 
of  their  number,  assuming  their  dress,  copying  their  man- 
ners, entering  into  their  sports,  becoming  more  familiar  with 
their  language  and  their  character,  and  thus  unconsciously 
being  educated  for  a  future  mission  in  the  red  man's  behalf, 
which  he  as  little  suspected  at  the  time  as  did  they.  In  this 
memorable  expedition,  the  sum  total  of  the  game  secured  by 
the  camp  was  2,000  deer,  sixty  elk,  many  bears,  and  a  number 
of  buffaloes,  with  six  panthers.  Speaking  of  his  costume 
about  this  period,  he  says:  "I  allowed  my  hair  to  grow  very 
long,  and  for  some  time  past  had  worn  no  other  covering  on 
my  head,  and  being  bearded  like  a  pard,  and  dressed  in  In- 
dian costume,  with  two  enormous  dogs  at  my  heels,  the  men 
crowded  about  me,  wondering  where  such  a  wild  man  of  the 
woods  had  come  from."  ^  It  is  one  of  the  remarkable  state- 
ments, which,  however,  we  shall  find  fully  justified  by  Mr. 
Sibley's  later  military  life,  that  he  continued  to  observe  the 
Sabbath,  even  while  hunting  with  the  Indians.  "I  made  it  a 
practice,"  he  says,  "to  hunt  with  the  Indians  every  day, 
except  Sunday,  when  I  remained  in  my  lodge.  "^  But  once 
only  he  seems  to  have  mistaken  the  day.  Starting,  one  Sab- 
bath morning,  as  he  supposed  it  to  be,  to  visit  a  party  on  nec- 
essary and  important  matters  connected  with  the  United 
States  Government's  action,  he  walked  twenty  miles,  and 
reaching  his  destination  found  the  gentleman  he  wished  to  see 
in  charge  of  a  party  of  ten  men,  all  engaged  in  work.  Won- 
dering that  his  friend  should  encourage  labor  on  the  Sabbath 
day,  he  expressed  to  him  his  surj)rise  at  what  he  saw.  He 
wa.s  instantly  corrected,  not  without  amusement,  and  informed 
that  the  day  was  "Thursday,  and  not  Sunday,"  and  was  not 
entitled  to  the  sanctity  Mr.  Sibley  had  attached  to  it.     "The 

1  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  I,  p.  '.'01. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  2f)4. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  264. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  79 

fact  was,"  says  Mr.  Sibley,  ^'that  I  had  been  keeping  Thurs- 
day instead  of  Sunday.  Pressed  to  remain,  I  declined,  and 
took  up  my  march  to  the  camp,  which  I  reached  late  at 
night."! 

During  his  entire  residence  in  camp,  Mr.  Sibley's  testi- 
mony is  that  he  was  uniformly  treated  with  kindness  and 
respect,  no  attempt  made  to  annoy  him  save  once,  when  one 
night  his  lodge  and  his  life  were  endangered  by  some  miscre- 
ant, who,  at  midnight,  kindled  a  fire  under  a  cart  standing 
near,  and  on  which  "two  kegs,  each  containing  fifty  pounds 
of  powder,"  were  resting.  Awakened  by  the  dense  smoke 
borne  into  his  lodge,  Mr.  Sibley  and  his  Canadians  rushed  out 
to  discover  the  cause,  and,  finding  the  cart  itself  on  fire,  imme- 
diately beneath  the  kegs,  and  only  a  moment  until  explo- 
sion and  destruction  were  inevitable,  they  leaped  to  the  flam- 
ing vehicle,  removed  the  powder,  extinguished  the  fire,  and 
returned  to  their  rest. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Mr.  Sibley,  already  enjoying 
the  7iom  de  plume  of  ^^  Sal  a  DaJcotah^'  as  a  writer  in  Porter's 
Spirit  of  the  Times,  and  other  Eastern  magazines,  received  a 
new  name,  the  name  "  Wah-ze-o-ma7i-zee,^^  or  "Walker-in-the 
Pines."  This  Indian  doctorate  of  honor  was  bestowed  upon 
him  by  a  Dakota  comrade,  ^'  Tah-ko-ko-Jce-jnsh-iiee,^^  or  "The- 
man-who-fears  nothing,"  whose  former  name  was  the  one  by 
which  Mr.  Sibley  was  called.  In  consequence  of  a  desperate 
battle  between  the  Wah-pa-koo-ta  Dakotas  and  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes,  in  which  Mr.  Sibley's  comrade  signalized  his  courage, 
the  later  name  was  assumed.  Bequeathing  the  former  name 
to  his  white  friend,  the  Indian  caused  a  crier  to  proclaim  aloud 
to  the  red  men,  everywhere,  that  he  had  transferred  his  own 
title  to  Mr.  Sibley,  and  that  hereafter  he  must  be  known  as 
^^Wah-ze-o-man-zee,^^  or  "Walker-in-the-Pines,"  a  second  title 
of  nobility  indisputable  as  the  proudest  worn  by  royal  favor- 
ites. 

Another,  among  the  many  incidents  which  nearly  cost 
young  Sibley  his  life,  was  his  celebrated  encounter  with  a 
buffalo,  in  the  fall  of  1842,  when  on  an  independent  hunting 
excursion  with  his  friends  Faribault  and  Frazer.  It  must  be 
told  in  Mr.  Sibley's  own  language,  and  in  connection  with  his 
elk  shooting,  as  found  described  in  the  celebrated  American 
edition  of  Colonel  Peter  Hawkins'  English  work  on  '■'■Guns 

1  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  I,  p.  264. 


80  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

and  Shooting.^''  The  devotee  of  field  sports  from  his  boyhood, 
and  with  a  passion  for  adventure,  a  practiced  horseman,  and 
expert  with  the  shotgun  and  the  rifle,  athletic,  in  the  prime 
of  life,  and  boundless  in  his  confidence  to  dare  and  do  all  that 
mortals  may,  the  time  came  when  the  self  conceit  of  his 
unsurpassed  abilities  to  cope  with  anything  in  sea,  earth,  or 
sky,  was  reduced  to  a  minimum.  Sighting  a  herd  of  buffalo 
or  elk  (uncertain  which)  on  the  seventh  day  of  their  expedi- 
tion, the  horses,  spurred  to  the  game,  flew  over  the  ground 
like  the  Arab  steed  in  his  best  moods. 

"The  prairie,"  says  Mr.  Sibley,  "clothed  in  its  variegated  autumn 
hues,  appeared  to  rise  and  fall  like  the  undulations  of  the  ocean,  and  in  all 
directions  might  be  perceived  points  of  woodland  growth  giving  forth  all 
the  tints  peculiar  to  an  American  forest.  A  thin  belt  of  trees  encircled  a 
lake  not  distant,  the  bright  sheet  of  water,  unruffled  by  a  breeze,  gleaming 
through  the  openings  in  all  its  glorious  beauty.  It  seemed  almost  a  sacri- 
lege to  Nature  to  invade  her  solitudes,  only  to  carry  with  us  dismay  and 
death.  But  other,  certainly  not  more  holy,  thoughts  soon  dissipated  in  us 
ali  sense  of  the  magnificence  of  the  scene.  Having  stripped  ourselves  of 
all  superfluous  clothing,  we  commenced  the  delicate  operation  of  approach. 
A  few  yards  brought  us  in  full  view  of  the  herd  of  elk,  as  it  proved  to  be, 
lolling  lazily  in  the  sunshine,  unsuspicious  of  danger.  Dismounted  and 
flat  on  the  ground,  with  Indian  stealthiuess  we  wormed  ourselves  along, 
under  cover  of  the  grass,  wading  through  water  two  feet  deep,  until  emerg- 
ing on  dry  ground,  within  sixty  yards  of  our  game.  As  these  magnificent 
creatures  instantly  bounded  off  in  great  confusion,  our  double-barrels  were 
discharged,  and  three  elk  fell  dead.  My  horse,  brought  at  once  to  my  side 
by  those  who  had  him  in  charge,  I  mounted  instantly,  and  the  noble 
animal,  entering  into  the  spirit  of  the  chase,  set  off  at  racing  speed.  Having 
onlj'  a  revolver,  ray  right  hand  benumbed  with  cold,  I  shifted  the  weapon 
to  my  left,  and  overtaking  the  fugitives  a  mile  ahead,  managed  to  discharge 
it  at  a  female  elk  distant  not  more  than  ten  feet.  The  ball  took  effect,  but 
the  animal  plunging  into  a  wide  boggy  stream,  through  which  she  passed 
successfully,  left  me  no  alternative  except  to  abandon  the  chase. ' '  ^ 

And  now  for  the  buffalo  affair: 

"Reconnoitering  next  day,"  continues  Mr.  Sibley,  "  three  buffaloes  were 
reported  to  us  a.s  lying  down  in  one  of  the  low  places  of  the  prairie.  Seven 
of  us  in  number  prc^pared  for  the  chase.  When  within  three  lumdred  yards 
of  them  we  charged  down  upon  them  at  full  speed.  Shortly  alongside,  our 
double-barreled  guns  told  with  deadly  elfect,  two  of  the  huge  beasts  rolling 
on  the  ground  in  death,  within  a  hundred  yards  of  each  other;  the  third,  a 
fine  bull,  escaped  from  the  other  horsemen,  who  unsuccessfully  discharged 
their  weapons  at  him.  Meanwhile  the  prairie  was  set  on  fire  by  some  Indi- 
ans ti)  the  windward  of  us,  the  wind  blowing  violently,  and  the  flames 


1  HawkiiiH  on  Sliootlng,  i.p.  205-2G7. 


HON.  HENEY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  81 

bearing  clown  upon  us,  so  that  we  had  no  time  to  secure  the  meat  of  the 
buffaloes  we  had  slain.  Five  times  we  approached  the  raging  element,  and 
as  many  times  werq  repulsed,  scorched  and  wellnigh  suffocated,  until,  by  a 
desperate  use  of  whip  and  spur,  we  leaped  our  horses  across  the  line  of  fire, 
looking,  as  we  emerged  from  the  smoke,  more  like  individuals  from  the 
lower  regions  than  inhabitants  of  earth.  Recovering  from  exhaustion,  we 
went  in  search  of  the  buffaloes,  and  descried  a  number  on  the  top  of  a  hill, 
bare  of  grass,  and  to  which  the  fire  had  driven  them.  There  was  a  very 
fine  fat  cow  m  the  centre  of  the  band,  which  I  made  several  efforts  to  sepa- 
rate from  the  others,  but  without  effect.  She  kept  herself  close  to  an  old 
bull,  who  from  his  enormous  size  appeared  to  be  the  patriarch  of  the  tribe. 
Being  resolved  to  get  rid  of  this  incumbrance,  I  shot  the  old  fellow  behind 
the  shoulder.  The  wound  was  mortal,  and  the  bull  left  the  herd,  and  went 
off  at  a  slow  gallop  in  a  different  direction.  As  soon  as  I  fired  I  slackened 
the  speed  of  my  horse  to  enable  me  to  reload,  determined  to  pursue  the 
retiring  mass,  trusting  to  find  the  wounded  animal  on  my  return.  Unfor- 
tunately, I  changed  my  mind,  and  sped  after  the  bull  to  give  him  the  coup 
de  grace.  I  rode  carelessly  along,  with  but  one  barrel  of  my  gun  loaded, 
when,  upon  nearing  the  buffalo,  he  turned  as  quick  as  lightning  to  charge. 
At  this  critical  instant  I  had  risen  in  my  stirrups,  and  released  my  hold  on 
the  bridle-rein.  The  moment  the  bufflilo  turned,  my  horse,  frightened  out 
of  his  propriety,  gave  a  tremendous  bound  sidewise,  and  alas!  that  I  should 
tell  it,  threw  Hal  clear  out  of  the  saddle,  and  within  ten  feet  of  the  enraged 
monster.  Here  was  a  predicament.  Imagine  your  humble  servant  face  to 
face  with  the  brute,  whose  eyes  glared  through  the  long  hair  which  gar- 
nished his  frontlet  like  coals  of  fire,  the  blood  streaming  from  his  nostrils. 
In  this  desperate  emergency  I  made  up  my  mind  that  my  only  chance  for 
escape  was  to  look  my  enemy  in  the  eye;  as  any  attemjit  to  run  would  only 
invite  attack.  Holding  my  gun  ready  cocked  to  fire  if  he  attempted  a  rush, 
I  stood  firmly,  although  I  must  confess  that  I  was  much  disturbed,  and 
thought  my  last  hour  had  come!  How  long  he  remained  there,  j)awing  and 
bellowing,  I  have  now  not  the  least  idea,  but  I  certainly  felt  that  he  was 
long  in  deciding  what  to  do.  At  last  he  turned  slowly  away,  and  I  gave  him 
a  parting  salute,  which  let  out  the  little  blood  left  in  his  body.  The  only 
one  of  the  party  within  view  now  came  up.  I  was  so  near  the  buffalo  when 
dismounted  that  my  companion  asked  me  if  I  had  struck  the  beast  with  the 
barrels  of  my  gun. 

"Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  chase  of  the  buffalo  in  those  early  days 
was  by  no  means  without  its  perils.  I  did  not  fail  to*render  due  homage  to 
that  Almighty  Being  who  had  so  wonderfully  preserved  my  life.  The  fre- 
quenter of  Nature's  vast  solitudes  may  be  a  wild  and  reckless  man,  but  he 
cannot  be  essentially  an  irreligious  man.  The  solemn  silence  of  the  forest 
and  the  prairie,  the  unseen  dangers  incident  to  this  mode  of  life,  and  the 
consciousness  that  the  providence  of  God  can  alone  avert  them,  all  these 
have  the  effect  to  lead  even  thoughtless  men  to  serious  and  deep  reflec- 
tion." 1 

The  dangers  of  a  frontier  life  were  neither  few  nor  small. 
A  single  instance  here  suflfices  for  our  illustration.     As  among 

1  Hawkins  on  Shooting,  pp.  269-271 ;  Wildwoods   Magazine,  May,  1888,  Vol.  I,  pp.  3,  4. 
6 


82  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

white  men,  so  among  red,  there  are  always  "fellows  of  the 
baser  sort."  The  camp  one  night  deserted  by  the  warriors 
gone  to  the  chase,  the  women  and  children  left  defenseless, 
Mr.  Sibley  on  returning  was  apprised  of  the  situation,  and 
further  informed  that  strange  Indians  were  prowling  near  the 
precincts.  A  war  party  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  had  come  to 
take  advantage  of  the  absence  of  the  Dakota  men  and  attack 
the  camp.  The  commotion  was  great.  Subduing  the  doleful 
death- songs  and  screaming  of  the  women,  crying  of  the  chil- 
dren, and  barking  of  the  dogs,  he  mustered  all  his  forces,  five 
old  men  and  himself,  and,  having  dispatched  a  trusty  boy  to 
bear  the  news  to  the  Dakotas  forty  miles  away,  Mr.  Sibley 
stationed  himself  at  the  main  entrance  with  his  rifle,  two  huge 
wolf  dogs,  all  the  loaded  firearms  he  could  lay  hold  of,  the  five 
old  men  at  his  side,  and  ordered  a  general  rapid  and  scatter- 
ing discharge  of  the  powder  and  ball  in  the  direction  where 
the  Indians  were  supposed  to  be  advancing.  The  night  being 
dark,  the  ruse  de  guerre  was  successful,  an  impression  being 
made  that,  after  all,  the  camp  was  not  so  defenseless  as  the 
savage  raiders  might  suppose.  Five  times  the  shots  were 
fired  in  quick  succession  by  the  little  band,  the  bipeds  and 
quadrupeds  remaining  silent  as  the  women.  The  morning 
light  revealed  the  fact  that  some  sixty  savages  had  actually 
made  an  investment  of  the  camp,  tying  their  horses  to  the 
trees  outside,  but  had  been  deterred  from  attempting  an 
assault.  The  boy  dispatched  to  bear  the  news  to  the  Dakotas, 
sped,  like  a  greyhound,  on  his  mission,  delivering  his  message, 
and  returned  next  day,  having  traveled,  on  foot,  a  distance 
of  over  eighty  miles  in  twenty-four  hours.  The  Dakotas  also 
returned,  Little  Crow  among  them,  only  to  receive  a  merited 
rebuke  from  Mr.  Sibley  for  their  carelessness.  This  is  but  one 
of  many  instances  where  Mr.  Sibley  was  instrumental  in  sav- 
ing the  lives  of  scores  and  hundreds  of  persons,  who,  but  for 
his  wisdom  and  his  valor,  had  been  victimized  to  the  cunning 
wiles  of  the  Indians. 

But  if  Mr.  Sibley  became  famous  as  the  Nimrod  among  hunt- 
ers of  the  Northwest,  and  as  the  deliverer  of  an  endangered 
camp,  his  manhood  was  not  the  less  adorned  by  deeds  of  high 
benevolence,  the  remembrance  of  which  lived  to  bless  him  in 
after  days.  The  following  winter  was  one  of  intense  suffering 
and  severity,  not  only  on  account  of  the  cold  but  also  because 
of  the  depth  of  the  snow.    The  Indians  were  falling  victims  to 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  83 

starvation,  their  cattle  also  perishing  for  want  of  food.  The 
camp  of  the  Wahpetons,  near  the  Big  Woods,  could  survive 
but  a  few  days  longer.  Eepairing  to  Fort  Snelling  as  soon  as 
the  news  of  the  suffering  reached  him,  although  discouraged 
from  his  enterprise  through  fear  of  approaching  want  to  the 
garrison,  yet  he  enlisted  the  sympathy  of  the  assistant  quar- 
termaster, who  acted  also  as  commissary,  and  secured  at  last  a 
large  quantity  of  corn  and  of  tallow,  himself  becoming  person- 
ally responsible  for  the  value  of  the  whole  amount.  Selecting 
his  own  best  horses  from  his  stable  and  loading  four  Canadian 
sleds  each  with  seven  hundred  pounds  of  provisions,  consist- 
ing of  tea,  coffee,  and  sugar,  stores  of  his  own  also  being  added, 
he  dispatched  his  trusted  clerk,  Mr.  W.  H.  Forbes,  afterward 
brevetted  in  the  army  for  his  gallantry,  to  the  Wahpeton  camp. 
The  journey  was  perilous,  the  dangers  were  many,  the  dis- 
tance was  great,  over  sixty  miles  away,  only  half  of  that  dis- 
tance possible  to  be  traversed  on  the  ice  of  the  river,  the  other 
half  through  the  thick  timber  and  deep  snow,  almost  too  great 
a  difficulty  for  man  or  animal  to  presume  to  overcome.  Fallen 
trees,  ravines  filled  with  ice  and  snow  six  feet  deep,  high 
drifts  obstructing,  and  no  trail  for  a  guide,  it  seemed  almost 
a  forloi'n  hope.  Perseverance,  however,  conquered.  The 
camp  was  reached  in  a  few  days,  and  the  wretched  Indians 
looked  upon  Mr.  Forbes  and  his  men  as  rescuing  angels  sent 
by  the  Good  Spirit  to  redeem  their  lives  from  death.  The 
picture  was  sad  enough  when  the  deliverance  came.  Stalwart 
warriors,  who  had  suffered  long  and  endured  all  things  to  save 
their  wives  and  children,  lay  prostrate  and  exhausted,  power- 
less and  almost  lifeless,  waiting  their  last  summons  to  depart. 
The  very  dogs  had  been  eaten;  children  were  famished  and 
crying;  some  of  the  camp  had  succumbed  to  death.  The  relief 
brought  was  timely  indeed,  and  evoked  from  the  suffering 
survivors  the  deepest  gratitude  toward  Mr.  Forbes  and  his 
assistants.  The  crisis  over,  the  return  of  spring,  with  its 
abundant  flocks  of  ducks  and  geese,  brought  ample  provision 
to  the  Wahpetons.  With  the  opening  of  navigation,  the  per- 
sonal pledge  to  the  commissary  at  the  fort  was  redeemed, 
and  another  history  of  signal  kindness  and  fidelity  was  added 
to  the  many  already  connected  with  the  name  of  Mr.  Sibley. 
But  still  other  spheres  of  life  than  those  already  mentioned 
levied  tribute  from  the  genius  and  versatile  accomplishments 
of  Mr.  Sibley.     It  fell  to  his  lot  to  be  the  only  civil  magistrate 


«4  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

in  "a  region  of  country  large  as  the  Empire  of  France,"  the 
county  seat  of  which  was  three  hundred  miles  distant  from 
his  home  at  Mendota.  With  such  dignity  of  demeanor  did 
he  exercise  his  functions,  that,  of  the  simple-minded  people 
by  whom  he  became  gradually  surrounded,  and  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact,  some  were  verily  persuaded  he  possessed,  by 
virtue  of  his  office,  the  high  power  of  life  and  death.  His 
word  was  the  code  imperial,  his  decisions  unappealable.  The 
administration  of  justice  was  purely  moral,  dictated  by  a  sense 
of  what  was  right  before  the  bar  of  an  enlightened  conscience, 
and  under  a  sense  of  responsibility  to  the  Judge  of  all.  To  no 
safer  hands  could  such  a  power  have  been  intrusted.  "While 
there  was  much  to  solemnly  impress,  there  was  much  also  in 
the  nature  of  the  case  to  solemnly  amuse.  On  one  occasion,  a 
criminal  fleeing  from  justice  and  evading  a  warrant  issued 
for  his  arrest,  was,  by  order  of  Mr.  Sibley,  pursued,  over- 
taken, and  compelled  to  return  and  answer  to  the  charge 
made  against  him.  The  friends  of  the  culprit,  fast  in  his  irons, 
begged  hard  for  judicial  clemency.  After  keeping  him  in 
custody  for  several  days,  and  giving  him  a  taste  of  "durance 
vile,"  Mr.  Sibley  decided — inasmuch  as  no  jail  then  existed 
— to  release  him,  upon  condition  that  he  would  leave  the 
country  for  the  country's  good,  threatening  dire  vengeance  in 
the  event  of  his  reappearance  or  report  of  his  presence  any- 
where within  the  limits  of  the  empire.  Submitting  to  the 
judgment,  decreed  without  any  form  of  trial,  he  departed,  nor 
was  he  ever  afterward  heard  of  in  any  jDortion  of  the  region 
where  his  person  and  his  crime  were  known.  In  process  of 
time  Major  Joseph  Brown  also  became  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
and  learned  from  Mr.  Sibley's  mo(?MS  operandi  the  true  method 
of  a  genuine  and  effective  judicial  administration.  The  impor- 
tant question  of  deciding  between  two  contestants  whose  was 
the  title  to  a  piece  of  land  not  yet  staked  out,^  had  to  be  con- 
sidered. The  Gordian  knot  of  legal  uncertainty  was  soon  cut 
by  (hicreoing  that  a  "foot-race,"  by  both  claimants,  to  where 
the  land  lay,  eight  miles  distant,  the  first  arriver  to  drive  the 
first  stake,  should  terminate  the  litigation.  The  decision  was 
accept<'d,  and  the  land  was  pre-empted  solely  by  the  differ- 
ence of  the  virtue  that  adjudged  the  palm  to  the  fleet-footed 
Achillea}  as  against  the  slow-moving  tortoise.  "This,"  says 
Mr.  Sibley,  "was  by  no  means  the  only  instance  in  which 
superior  rapidity  of  movement  was  the  means  of  securing  a 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  85 

valuable  pre-emption,  but  it  is  believed  to  be  the  only  case  in 
which  speed  of  foot  was  made  to  decide  a  legal  question  in 
obedience  to  the  fiat  of  a  magistrate! "  ^ 

Nine  years  of  such  varied  life,  so  full  of  vicissitude,  labor, 
romance,  danger,  and  incident,  living  most  of  the  time  as  an 
Indian  among  Indians,  a  hunter,  a  soldier,  a  legislator,  and  a 
judge,  and  transacting  an  immense  business  as  the  head  of  the 
great  American  Fur  Company  for  the  Northwest,  had  passed 
away.  The  year  1843  was  an  important  one  for  Mr.  Sibley. 
It  changed  entirely  the  whole  mode  of  his  life,  from  that  of  a 
"bachelor"  to  that  of  a  "benedict."  He  resolved  no  longer 
to  live  a  single  life.  The  fair  woman,  who  that  year  became 
his  wife,  he  had  previously  met  in  the  spring  of  1842,  in  the 
city  of  Baltimore,  where,  unexpectedly  called  from  Washing- 
ton to  stand  as  groomsman  for  her  brother,  the  late  Franklin 
Steele,  he  first  made  her  acquaintance.  So  was  it  ordered  by 
divine  Providence.  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  and  Sarah  Jane 
Steele,  the  youngest  of  the  family,  having  just  completed  her 
educational  curriculum,  stood  up  together  at  the  bridal.  The 
beauty  of  her  person,  her  bright  intelligence,  her  modesty  of 
mien,  her  sprightliness  and  charm,  unconsciously  impressed  a 
deathless  mark  upon  the  soul  of  the  gallant  pioneer,  though 
even  then  not  "on  matrimonial  thoughts  intent."  No  dream 
had  yet  occurred  that,  with  the  flight  of  a  few  months,  he 
would  play  the  role  of  a  married  man.  Soon  after  the  cere- 
mony. General  Steele,  the  father  of  the  recent  bridegroom, 
died,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Franklin  Steele,  happy  in  their  union, 
came  to  Fort  Snelling,  accompanied  by  the  charming  Sarah 
Jane.  Later,  in  1848,  the  widow  of  General  Steele  came  to 
Mendota,  and  made  her  home  for  sixteen  years  with  Mr.  Sib- 
ley after  he  became  her  son-in-law;  "a  venerable  Christian 
mother,"  whose  influence  was  everywhere  felt,  and  whose 
praise  to  this  day  is  upon  the  tongues  of  all  her  children.  At 
the  same  time  her  oldest  daughter,  Mary  H.,  attended  her. 
As  to  Mr.  Sibley's  condition,  when  Miss  Sarah  Jane  arrived 
at  the  fort,  it  was  critical.  The  perilous  encounter  with  the 
buffalo,  already  recited,  had  caused  him  to  become  a  cripple, 
in  a  measure,  for  a  number  of  monotonous  and  weary  months, 
unable  to  visit  Fort  Snelling  and  enjoy  the  companionship  of 
his  friends.  Amusingly  enough,  however,  the  palsied  condi- 
tion of  our  pioneer  suddenly,  as  no  less  surprisingly,  gave 

1  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  Ill,  Part  2,  p.  268. 


86  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

place  to  a  marvelous  convalescence  the  moment  the  news  that 
the  charming  daughter  of  General  and  Mrs.  Steele  was  in  the 
fort;  so  much  so  that,  without  crutches,  Mr.  Sibley  found 
means  to  materialize  and  report,  at  least  once  a  day  regularly, 
at  military  headquarters,  the  visit  lasting,  however,  only 
the  brief  period  from  early  morning  till  late  in  the  evening. 
Inclined  always  to  read  his  Bible,  he  began  at  Genesis,  de  novo, 
but  seemed  to  go  no  further,  for  the  present,  than  to  a  special 
passage  felt  to  be  exceedingly  imjjortant,  and  no  less  true, 
viz. :  "Jif  is  not  good  for  man  to  be  alone!  ^^  An  interesting  his- 
tory is  told  in  a  few  words.  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  and  Sarah 
Jane  Steele  were  married  by  the  Eev.  Ezekiel  Gear,  post 
chaplain  at  the  fort.  May  2,  1843.  At  Mendota  they  lived 
joyfully  together,  coming  to  reside  in  St.  Paul  in  1862,  when 
her  husband  was  commissioned  as  commanding  officer  of  the 
military  district  of  Minnesota,  headquarters  established  at  St. 
Paul,  where  ever  since  Mr.  Sibley  has  remained.  The  Provi- 
dence, that  gives  and  takes  away,  removed  from  his  side  the 
object  of  his  warm  affection,  and  May  21, 1869,  he  was  called  to 
feel  the  keenest  pang  of  anguish  the  human  heart  can  know, 
and  mourn  the  loss  of  one  whose  love  none  else  on  earth  could 
replace.  Mr.  Sibley  never  remarried.  The  loss  of  two  infant 
children,  and  the  death  of  Mrs.  Sibley  when  her  youngest  liv- 
ing child  was  but  two  years  old,  only  served  to  deepen  the 
great  affliction  and  intensify  the  sorrow.  Two  sisters  of 
Mrs.  Sibley  were  married  at  the  homestead  in  Mendota,  Abhie 
Ann  to  Dr.  Thomas  Potts,  one  of  the  first  physicians  who  set- 
tled in  St.  Paul,  and  who  died  several  years  ago,  and  Rachel 
E.,  who  was  united  to  Lieutenant,  now  Brevet  Major  General, 
Richard  W.  Johnson,  United  States  Army,  who  distinguished 
himself  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  and  is  well  known  as  a 
prominent  and  useful  citizen  of  St.  Paul.  The  proximate 
cause  of  the  death  of  Mrs.  Sibley  was  the  care  and  the  loss  of 
her  two  little  children,  who  died  within  a  mouth  of  each  other, 
and  while  her  husband  wiis  in  the  field  exposed  to  the  dangers 
and  terrors  of  the  fearful  massacre  by  the  hostile  Sioux,  in 
1862. 

Of  the  ancestry  of  this  noble  woman  it  is  proper  to  speak 
in  any  history  that  recites  the  fortunes  of  her  illustrious  hus- 
l)and.  She,  also,  was  of  stock  renowned  in  the  annals  of  the 
nation.  She  was  the  ninth  child  and  fifth  daughter  of  General 
J  lilies  Steele  of   Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  an  officer  of 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  87 

high  distinction  in  the  War  of  1812.  Her  father,  born  in  1768, 
married  Mary  Humes  of  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  1800.  The 
nine  children,  the  fruit  of  this  marriage,  were  (1)  Elizabeth, 
(2)  William  H.,  (3)  James,  (4)  John,  (5)  Mary  H.,  (6)  Franklin, 
(7)  EacheJ  E.,  (8)  Abbie  Ann,  (9)  Sarah  Jane.  Of  these 
brothers  and  sisters,  one  became  a  physician  (Dr.  John  Steele), 
another  an  eminent  citizen  (Franklin  Steele),  another  the  wife 
of  Brevet  Major  General  E.  W.  Johnson,  United  States  Army, 
another  the  wife  of  Mr.  H.  H.  Sibley.  Mrs.  Sibley's  grandfather 
was  Captain  William  Steele  of  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  who 
married  Eachel  Carr  of  Maryland,  and  whose  children  were 
(1)  Archibald,  (2)  William,  (3)  John,  (4)  James,  (5)  Eachel, 
(6)  Ann.  All  the  sons  attained  to  military  distinction  in 
the  service  of  their  country,  the  second  becoming  a  colonel, 
the  other  three  honored  with  the  rank  of  general.  Captain 
William  Steele,  the  father  of  these  distinguished  children,  was 
an  influential  citizen,  a  man  of  wealth  and  power,  and  a 
prominent  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Sadsbury, 
Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  served  in  the  Indian  and 
French  war  of  1756,  when  France  and  England  were  compet- 
ing for  territory  on  the  American  continent.  This  was  the  last 
and  also  the  severest  time  of  the  intercolonial  struggles.  After 
Braddock's  defeat,  Captain  Steele  marched  with  the  Lancaster 
militia  to  reinforce  the  Colonial  troops,  and  assisted  to  drive 
Montcalm  and  the  French  from  the  command  of  the  Ohio  river 
and  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario,  and  the  Indian  country  of  the 
Six  Nations.  In  the  Eevolutionary  War,  the  military  dis- 
tinction of  the  sons  of  this  valiant  man  became  no  less  emi- 
nent. Colonel  Archibald,  brother  of  General  John  Steele, 
marched  all  the  way  from  Lancaster  to  Boston,  and  came 
under  the  command  of  Benedict  Arnold.  His  was  the  famous 
regiment  that  traversed  on  foot  the  whole  distance  from  Boston 
to  Quebec,  the  vanguard  of  the  army,  in  the  memorable  winter 
of  1775,  and  sent  to  assail  that  renowned  fortress.  Succes- 
sively deputy  quartermaster  and  colonel  of  the  Western  expe- 
dition, appointed  by  Washington  to  this  responsible  service, 
he  died  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  aged  ninety-one  years, 
respected  and  lamented  by  all  who  knew  him.  His  three 
sons  were  in  the  navy.  General  James  Steele,  Mrs.  H.  H. 
Sibley's  father,  born  1774,  an  ofl&cer  in  the  War  of  1812,  was 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  brigadier  general  ''for  gallant  and 
meritorious  services  in  the  field."    He  was  an  earnest  and  de- 


88  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

voted  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  General  John  Steele, 
his  brother,  born  in  Drumore,  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania, 
was  in  training  for  the  Presbyterian  ministry,  but  as  soon  as 
the  Eevolutionary  War  broke  out,  entered  the  army,  aged 
eighteen  years,  served  during  the  whole  war,  was  severely 
wounded  in  the  battle  of  Brandywine,  was  elected  to  the 
legislature  in  1802,  state  senator,  Democrat,  1803,  re-elected 
1804,  speaker  of  the  house,  1805,  commissioner  to  adjust  the 
damages  sustained  by  the  Wyoming  sufferers  from  Indian 
attacks,  1806,  appointed  by  Jefferson  collector  of  the  port  of 
Philadelphia,  and  died  in  that  city,  1827,  the  flags  dressed  at 
half-mast  and  business  suspended  in  honor  of  his  name. 

Of  such  illustrious  grandfather,  father  and  uncles,  was 
Mrs.  Sarah  Jane  Sibley,  a  woman  of  rare  personal  beauty, 
accomplishment,  and  grace,  and  whose  praises  were  on  the 
tongue  of  everyone;  a  loyal  wife,  a  loving  mother,  a  cheerful 
friend,  a  brave  adventurer, — sharing  without  a  murmur  the 
hardships  and  toils  of  a  pioneer  life, — a  tender-hearted  and 
true  Christian,  whose  example  at  home  and  in  all  the  social  cir- 
cles wherever  she  moved  was  such  as  won  to  herself  the  respect 
and  esteem  of  all.  The  loss  of  such  a  wife  might  well  be  a 
wound  no  time  could  heal.  Her  merit  is  already  a  matter  of 
public  record.  ' '  Mrs.  Sibley  was  a  lady  of  rare  virtues  and 
accomplishments  and  well  fitted  to  adorn  the  prominent  sta- 
tions in  society  which  she  occupied  for  so  many  years  in  the 
city  of  Washington  and  in  Minnesota,"  ^  "  a  cultured  woman, 
of  unusual  personal  beauty  and  rare  accomplishments;"  ^ 

'  Minnehaha,  Laughing  Water, 
Handsomest  of  all  the  women; 
She,  a  wife  with  nimble  fingers, 
Heart  and  hand  that  move  together, 
Feet  that  run  on  willing  errands.' 

"one  who  gracefully  accommodated  herself  to  the  novelty  of 
a  frontier  life,  sprightly  in  disposition,  and  devoted  to  her 
children,  her  venerable  mother,  and  her  husband.  Her  death 
was  a  great  loss."^  Nor  less  meritorious  in  their  respective 
spheres  were  her  three  sisters,  Mary  H.,  who  remained  single 
during  her  whole  life,  and  whose  rare  virtues  were  not  unduly 
eulogized  by  all  as  her  body  was  borne  to  the  grave,  Eachel 
E.,  the  gentle  and  devoted  wife  of  General  Johnson,  and  Abbie 

1  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  Ill,  Tart  2,  p.  279. 

2  Folooni'H  Fifty  VearH  in  the  Northwest,  p.  553. 

3  Neill'H  JIiHtory  of  MinncBOta,  p.  498. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  89 

Ann,  relict  of  Dr.  Potts,  and  the  mainstay  of  comfort  and  help  to 
Mr.  Sibley;  a  woman  of  sincerity,  deep  religious  feeling,  great 
devotion,  quick  perception,  clear  judgment,  and  of  pleasing 
and  sportive  conversation  ;-a  helper  in  suffering  and  an  angel  of 
mercy  to  the  distressed;  all  of  them  women  whom  church  and 
state  do  well  to  praise,  and  whose  names  and  memories  their 
children  will  not  suffer  to  fade  away.  The  husband  of  Abbie 
Ann,  viz.,  Dr.  T.  E.  Potts,  was  a  brother  of  the  distinguished 
Eev.  George  Potts,  D.D.,  pastor  of  the  University  Place  Presby- 
terian Church,  New  York  City,  a  man  of  majestic  presence, 
great  dignity,  deep  piety,  of  universal  esteem  in  all  denomina- 
tions, and  for  many  years  director  in  the  Princeton  Theological 
Seminary.  His  brother,  a  prominent  and  eminent  lawyer. 
Major  John  C.  Potts, —  whose  father,  Eev.  George  C.  Potts 
of  Philadelphia,  had  four  sons  and  three  daughters, — is  a 
gentleman  of  high  distinction  and  fine  scholarship,  having 
served  his  country  in  various  responsible  and  high  posi- 
tions, and  now  in  the  evening  of  his  life,  and  abides  an  honored 
elder  in  the  Lafayette  Presbyterian  Church,  New  Orleans,  the 
valued  and  esteemed  counselor  of  his  pastor,  Eev.  Dr.  Mark- 
ham. 

The  family  of  Mr.  Sibley  is  of  rare  and  remarkable  com- 
bination, a  mixture  of  genuine  Puritan  and  genuine  Presby- 
terian blood,  and,  in  both  streams,  of  unusual  civil,  military, 
and  ecclesiastical  distinction,  and  of  indomitable  pioneer  pro- 
pensity. Children  of  the  first  generation  of  pioneer  settlers, 
they  grew  up  amid  the  romances  of  a  fresh  life,  full  of  the 
freedom  of  the  air  they  breathed.  At  Mendota  first,  then  at 
St.  Paul,  they  were,  in  a  large  measure,  moulded  by  the  cir- 
cumstances of  their  environment.  The  proximity  of  Fort 
Snelling,  where  always  were  found  considerable  numbers  of 
troops  with  their  officers  and  families,  and  easy  access  to  St. 
Paul,  and  a  share  in  all  the  social  relations  and  customs  that 
marked  the  rapid  growth  of  a  new  country,  made  a  pleasing 
and  daily  intercourse  enjoyable,  and  not  without  its  influence 
upon  the  rising  generation.  Mr.  Sibley,  a  man  of  affairs  and 
of  public  interest,  was  necessarily  often  absent  from  home. 
Society  was  then  comparatively  free  from  that  disgusting 
affectation  of  airs,  etiquette,  and  ceremony,  which  now  are 
exacted  by  the  haut  ton  who  have  scarcely  anything  more 
than  money,  ignorance,  show,  sham,  and  shoddy,  to  commend 
them  as  meritorious  in  the  consideration  of  others  of  superior 


90  ANCESTEY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

character.  Many  respectable  families  in  Mendota  added  to 
the  pleasures  of  the  companionship  of  the  fort.  A  charming 
society  at  length  developed  itself,  bound  together  at  first  by  a 
sense  of  mutual  dependence,  common  interest,  sincere  per- 
sonal regard,  unbroken  by  the  dissensions  of  religious  sects 
or  debates  of  political  strife.  Besides  the  regular  religious 
service  at  the  fort,  and  the  organization  of  various  small 
churches  under  missionary  care,  in  remote  places,  Mr.  Sibley, 
in  1847, — Mendota  being  still  without  a  place  of  Protestant 
worship, — erected,  at  his  own  expense,  a  neat,  commodious 
stone  church  edifice,  with  painted  and  paneled  pews  and  a 
gallery,  to  which  he  invited  ministers  of  all  evangelical 
denominations  to  avail  themselves  of  its  convenience.  As  a 
result,  scarcely  a  Sunday  passed  without  religious  service, 
Presbyterian,  Baptist,  Methodist,  Episcopalian,  all  taking 
turn  in  their  Sunday  visits.  When  the  Civil  War  was  inaug- 
urated and  Fort  Snelling  was  made  the  rendezvous  for  vol- 
unteers, large  numbers  frequented  the  little  church,  while 
still  larger  numbers  ran  riot  in  violence,  causing  such  terror 
that  the  people  forsook  their  homes,  and  the  first  spot  of  Mr. 
Sibley's  pioneer  life  in  Minnesota,  and  which  promised  so 
much  for  the  future,  became  a  deserted  village,  reduced  at 
last  to  a  railway  station.  The  church  edifice  was  afterward 
sold  to  the  trustees  of  the  school  board  for  much  less  than  it 
cost. 

During  Mr.  Sibley's  residence  in  Mendota  it  still  remained 
as  the  general  entrepot  of  the  fur  trade,  attracting  business 
from  the  whole  upper  country  owned  by  the  Sioux  or  Dako- 
ta bands.  The  furs  were  brought  by  the  traders  from  the 
various  trading  stations,  large  quantities  of  buffalo,  beaver, 
otter,  fox,  deer,  and  other  skins,  and,  after  assortment  into 
various  grades,  were  packed,  pressed,  and  directed  to  New 
York,  London,  and  other  markets,  to  be  disposed  of  to  the  best 
advantage.  The  traders  received  their  outfits,  and  returned 
to  their  respective  stations,  in  time  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
fall  hunts  of  the  Indians. 

The  home  of  Mr.  Sibley  in  Mendota  was,  like  the  ''hotel " 
of  his  previous  bachelor  life,  a  mansion  of  hospitality,  never 
closed  to  the  stranger,  and  oftentimes  the  retreat  of  travelers 
and  men  of  military,  civil,  social,  and  scientific  distinction. 
Governor  Lewis  Cass  of  Michigan,  Major  H.  S.  Long,  United 
States  Army,  and  the  celebrated  Henry  R.  Schoolcraft,  who 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  91 

discovered  the  source  of  the  Mississippi  (Lake  Itasca),  had 
early  visited  the  new  region  of  which  the  Mendota  home  was 
subsequently  the  centre.  In  1835  the  French  savant,  Jean  M. 
JS'icollet,  was  the  guest  of  Mr.  Sibley,  while  conducting  his 
exploration  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  and  the  Minnesota.  To 
this  learned  man,  between  whom  and  Mr.  Sibley  a  most  tender 
and  loving  attachment  sprang  up,  the  latter  has  paid  a  just 
and  beautiful  tribute  in  the  first  volume  of  the  Minnesota  State 
Historical  Collections.  ^  Nicollet  soon  went  into  the  service 
of  the  national  government,  1839,  and  in  company  with  John 
C.  Fremont,  lieutenant  of  the  United  States  Engineer  Corps, 
made  the  Mendota  mansion  their  home,  entering  fully  into  the 
pioneer  life  of  Mr.  Sibley,  and  accompanying  him  and  his 
friends,  as  already  seen,  in  one  of  their  annual  hunting  excur- 
sions. The  same  year  George  Catlin  made  his  appearance  and 
produced  a  work  on  the  North  American  Indians,  which  gave 
him  a  European  fame.  With  accustomed  generosity,  Mr.  Sib- 
ley furnished  him  horses  without  charge,  in  order  to  visit  the 
Pipestone  quarry,  with  a  trusty  guide  besides,  and  introduc- 
tions to  gentlemen  at  the  head  of  the  various  trading  posts. 
Next  to  him  came  Mr.  G.  W.  Featherstonhaugh,  United  States 
Geologist,  of  manners  conceited  and  aristocratic,  finding  but 
little  favor  with  Mr.  Sibley,  and  therefore  not  pressed  to  make 
his  mansion  his  home.  Notable  among  the  renowned  visitors 
at  Mendota  was  the  celebrated  Marryatt,  of  novelist  fame,  and 
post  captain  in  the  British  Navy.  Commended  to  Mr.  Sibley 
in  the  highest  manner,  he  was  installed  in  the  best  portion  of 
the  house,  and  for  many  weeks  enjoyed  the  full  extent  of  its 
hospitality.  It  was,  however,  reserved  for  Mr.  Sibley  to  min- 
ister to  Marryatt  a  merited  rebuke  such  as  he  never  forgot,  and 
which,  coming  to  the  ears  of  the  public  press,  was  given  to 

1  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  183-195. 

"The  astronomer,  geologist,  and  Christian  gentleman,  Jean  K.  Nicollet,  will  long  be 
remembered  in  connection  ■with  the  history  of  the  Northwest. 

"  Time  shall  quench  full  many 
A  peoples'  records,  and  a  hero's  acts. 
Sweep  empire  after  empire  into  nothing; 
But  even  then  shall  spare  this  deed  of  thine. 
And  hold  it  up,  a  problem  few  dare  imitate. 
And  none  despise." 

The  attached  letter  of  Nicollet  to  Sibley,  subscribed  "Adieu,  my  noble  friend;  yours,  heart 
and  soul,"  says  in  a  word  what  volumes  could  not  better  express,  as  to  the  personal  character 
of  Nicollet's  princely  host. 


92  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

the  winds  that  bore  it,  not  only  across  the  continent,  but  across 
the  high  seas,  to  the  other  side.  The  Maine  boundary  ques- 
tion was  in  agitation,  and  Congress  was  passing  a  bill  author- 
izing a  call  for  40,000  volunteers  to  teach  England  a  lesson, 
and  810,000,000  to  pay  their  expenses.  Marryatt  ^'rubbed 
his  hands  with  glee  when  he  heard  the  news,"  remarking  to 
Mr.  Sibley  that  his  rank  would  entitle  him  to  the  command  of 
her  Majesty's  ships  on  the  lakes,  and  he  meant  to  apply  for 
the  position.  The  whole  air,  manner,  and  conceit  of  Mar- 
ryatt were  so  insolent  and  so  disparaging  to  Americans,  and 
especially  to  the  United  States  Government,  and  so  utterly 
out  of  taste  for  one  who  was  the  guest  of  an  American  citizen, 
that  Mr.  Sibley  figuratively  took  the  burly  Englishman  by  the 
ears,  politely  informed  him  he  could  thrash  him  soundly  any 
moment  he  would  appoint  for  the  opportunity,  and,  warning 
him  —  with  a  sarcasm,  the  edge  of  which  the  "Britisher" 
could  not  fail  to  feel  —  "if  intrusted  with  the  British  Navy  on 
the  lakes,  in  case  of  war,  for  his  own  sake  at  least  to  avoid 
Lake  Chami)lain  and  Fut-in-Bay,  in  the  waters  of  both  of  which 
the  boasted  British  valor  and  British  skill  had  succumbed  to 
the  pluck  of  the  despised  Yankees ! "  ^  The  rapier  went  through 
his  person,  and  the  breach  widening  still  more  by  the  discovery 
that  Marryatt  had  been  tampering  with  sixty  Sioux  warriors, 
one  Sunday,  while  his  host  was  at  church,  persuading  the 
Indians  to  lift  the  hatchets  for  "the  mother  country"  should 
war  arise,  and  then,  when  detected,  basely  denying  his  deed, 
Mr.  Sibley  at  length  dismissed  him  from  his  house,  and  pub- 
lished him  in  the  New  York  papers  as  a  man  devoid  of  honor 
and  truth,  and  a  disgrace  to  the  English  nation  and  name. 
Next  after  Marryatt  came  the  expatriated  Count  Harastty,  a 
Hungarian  noble,  whose  patriotic  struggles  and  sad  misfor- 
tunes Mr.  Sibley  has  told  with  a  tender  and  sympathetic  regard. 
It  is  needless  to  specify  more.  The  Mendota  mansion  became 
not  only  historic,  but  national  and  cosmopolitan.  It  was  a 
home  for  the  oppressed,  the  retreat  of  the  savant,  and  an  asy- 
lum for  all  whose  manners  did  not  foreclose  its  kindness 
against  themselves, —  a  Geneva  of  refuge,  a  St.  Bernard  of 
hospitality  the  capital  of  the  Northwestern  pioneer  republic, 
in  which  the  gallant,  stalwart,  and  noble  proprietor  was  mon- 
arch of  all  he  surveyed !    The  burden  of  preparation  and  enter- 


1  Sketch  of  a  Minnesota  Pioneer,  Chicago  Times,  January  30, 1886,  Pamphlet  Ed.,  pp.  18, 
19,  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  I,  p.  482. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  93 

tainment  thrown  upon  the  ladies  of  the  house  hereby  was 
immense,  and  but  for  the  demotion  of  the  '■Hhree  sisters,^ ^  Mrs. 
Sibley,  Mrs.  Potts,  and  Mrs.  Johnson,  to  the  interests  and 
fame  of  Mendota,  the  royal  benevolence  of  Mr.  Sibley  had 
failed  to  find  its  adequate  expression.  What  we  have  seen  as 
a  matter  of  history  thus  far,  continued,  until,  with  the  devel- 
opment of  the  country,  the  change  of  Wisconsin  to  a  state, 
and  the  desire  of  the  early  settlers  in  Minnesota  to  assert  for 
themselves  their  right  to  national  recognition,  Mr.  Sibley 
was  called  into  still  higher  and  more  important  spheres  of 
usefulness  in  the  walks  of  public  life.    * 


CHAPTER  III. 

ME.  SIBLEY'S  ENTEANCE  UPON  HIS  CONGEESSIONAL  CABEEE.  —  STATE  OF  THE 
COTJNTEY  AT  THIS  EEMARKABLE  EPOCH,  1848. —  INFLUENCE  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES  UPON  EUROPE. — AMERICAN  DEVELOPMENT  AND  TERRI- 
TORIAL ACQUISITION. —  NATIONAL  DOMAIN.  —  TIDE  OF  EMIGRATION  TO 
THE  WEST.  —  NEED  OF  ORGANIZATION. —  STRUGGLE  OF  POLITICAL  PAR- 
TIES FOR  PREPONDERANCE  OF  POWER.  —  THREE  POLITICAL  PARTIES. — 
ANTAGONIZING  FORMS  OF  CIVILIZATION.  —  THE  AFRICAN  QUESTION, 
SLAVERY  AND  THE  TERRITORIES.  —  EXCITEMENT  IN  CONGRESS  AND  THE 
COUNTRY. —  FUGITIVE  SLAVE  LAW.  —  AGITATION.  —  DECISION  OF  THE 
WHIG  AND  DEMOCRATIC  PARTIES  IN  1852. —  SECTIONALISM. —  NATION- 
ALISM.—  THE  INDIAN  QUESTION.  —  DEFENSELESS  PIONEERS. —  POLICY 
OF  THE  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT  TOWARD  THE  INDIAN. —  PERFIDY. — 
WRONGS  UPON  THE  INDIAN.  —  RETALIATION.  —  TREATIES  VIOLATED. — 
CONFLICT  OF  THREE  RACES  WHEN  MR.  SIBLEY  ENTERED  CONGRESS,  THE 
WHITE  MAN,  THE  RED  MAN,  THE  BLACK  MAN.  —  THE  FEDERAL  QUES- 
TION; RELATION  OF  THE  FEDERAL  POWER  TO  INTERNAL  AFFAIRS. — 
AMERICAN  SYSTEM.  —  PUBLIC  DEBT.  —  TARIFF.  —  TAXATION. —  CAPITAL 
AND  LABOR.  —  BANKS. —  INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS.  —  SALE  OF  PUBLIC 
LANDS.  — ARISTOCRACY.  —  MONOPOLY.  — GIGANTIC  CORPORATIONS  IN 
LEAGUE  AVITH  THE  GOVERNMENT.  —  COMPOSITION  OF  THE  THIRTIETH 
CONGRESS  WHEN  MR.  SIBLEY  ENTERED  IT. —  GREAT  MEN.  —  HIS  STRUG- 
GLE FOR  ADMISSION. — DELEGATE  FROM  THE  RESIDUUM  OP  WISCONSIN 
TERRITORY.  —  UNIQUE  QUESTION.  —  HIS  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  HOUSE 
OF  REPRESENTATIVES. —  HIS  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE  AT  THAT  TIME. — 
CURIOSITY  TO  SEE  THE  DELEGATE  FROM  THE  HYPERBOREAN  PINE-LOG 
REGION.  —  REFERENCE  OF  HIS  CLAIM  TO  A  SEAT  TO  COMMITTEE  ON  ELEC- 
TIONS.—  HOPELESS. —  RELENTLESS  OPPOSITION. —  HIS  MAIDEN  SPEECH 
MAGNIFICENT. —  VICTORIOUS. —  ADMITTED  TO  A  SEAT. —  SYNOPSIS  OF 
HIS  SPEECH. —  SPLENDID  DEFENSE  OF  THE  RIGHTS  OF  HIS  CONSTITU- 
ENTS.—  HIS  ELOQUENCE. —  GREAT  PRINCIPLES  SET  IN  LOWLY  SUR- 
ROUNDINGS.—  THE  MAGNITUDE  OF  TRIFLES. —  MINNESOTA'S  GREATNESS 
FROM  A  SMALL  BEGINNING. 

The  period  in  American  history  when  Henry  H.  Sibley 
commenced  his  career  as  a  representative  in  Congress,  A.  D. 
1848,  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  the  entire  annals  of 
the  country.  A  point  of  national  development  had  been 
reached  surprising  to  the  civilized  world.  In  general,  and 
notwithstanding  the  great  internal  excitement,  to  which  we 
shall  later  refer,  and  in  contrast  with  the  unsettled  and 
trou])led  condition  of  Europe,  the  American  nation  presented 
the  grand  spectacle  of  a  vast,  free,  and  united  people,  enjoy- 
ing tranquility  at  home  with  few  exceptions,  peace  abroad. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  95 

and  a  prosperity  unexampled  since  the  foundation  of  the 
Union.  While  the  stateliest  monarchies  of  Europe  were 
crumbling  to  the  dust,  and  new  forms  of  government  rising 
on  their  ruins,  the  American  republic  stood  firm.  In  contrast 
with  the  older  nations  settling  their  internal  political  differ- 
ences by  means  of  the  sword,  the  younger  nation  of  the  New 
World  resorted  alone  to  the  arbitration  and  umpire  of  the 
ballot-box.  If  institutions  in  other  lands  were  built  up  at  the 
price  of  suffering  and  the  oppression  of  the  poorer  classes, 
heavily  taxed  and  burdened  with  care,  ours  were  the  spon- 
taneous growth  and  just  pride  of  a  free,  intelligent  people, 
whose  rapid  progress,  liberal  hand,  and  lofty  aspirations  com- 
manded the  praise  of  all  mankind. 

The  influence  of  the  United  States  upon  the  political  insti- 
tutions of  Europe  had  made  itself  deeply  felt.  The  forces 
set  at  work  by  the  American  colonies,  lifted  to  victory  in  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  and  its  results,  and  the  examjile 
of  a  great  nation  free  from  dynastic  control  and  risen  to  glory 
by  right  and  fact  of  popular  government  alone,  were  not  in 
vain  for  the  world.  American  success  was  a  challenge  to  all 
mankind  to  try  the  same  experiment.  As  formerly,  a  Lafay- 
ette, Steuben,  and  Kosciusko,  so  once  again,  a  Mazzini,  Gari- 
baldi, and  Kossuth,  interpreted  the  American  pulse  to  the 
nations.  Proud  champion  of  liberal  principles  and  of  popu- 
lar rights  in  the  frame  and  conduct  of  civil  government,  the 
republic  hailed  with  delight  the  spread  of  her  own  doctrines 
and  the  triumph  of  her  own  spirit,  though  won  at  the  cost  of 
agony  and  blood.  It  was  the  influence  of  her  own  example 
that  broke  the  Bourbon  yoke  from  the  neck  of  France,  and 
gave  to  Greece  her  independence.  If  later  on,  the  standing 
armies  of  Europe,  swayed  by  despotic  power,  availed  to  crush 
for  a  time  the  spread  of  liberal  principles,  and  revolutions 
and  insurrections  failed  too  oft  of  their  proper  end,  it  was 
only  that  greater  good  might  come  with  renewed  attempts  to 
cast  off  the  yoke  of  bondage  to  certain  families  who  deemed 
themselves  born  to  rule  all  other  families  throughout  the 
world.  In  1848  Europe  was  one  vast  political  volcano,  trem- 
bling with  earthquake,  everywhere.  Liberal  principles  as- 
serted themselves  as  never  before,  and  won,  against  odds  the 
most  discouraging,  triumphs  the  most  surprising.  And 
since  then  wonders  were  wrought.  Not  alone  did  Greece 
become  free  and  Sardinia  acquire  a  constijkutional  govern- 


96  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

ment,  Austria  a  parliamentary  rule,  Prussia  i)opular  repre- 
sentation, Spain  universal  suffrage  and  the  discharge  of  her 
queen,  France  a  republic,  and  Great  Britain  the  enlargement 
of  her  electoral  franchise,  Germany  moving  toward  a  grand 
imperial  confederation  of  states  subject  to  a  central  power  in 
many  respects  like  our  own,  but  the  whole  of  Europe  changed 
front  under  the  influence  and  secret  leaven  of  American  insti- 
tutions. 

Great  events,  the  mystery  of  whose  bearing  on  future  ages 
was  unknown  to  the  actors  who  gave  them  direction,  even  as, 
in  many  instances,  the  high  Providence  that  permitted  them 
was  unrecognized,  were  also  occurring  at  home.  We  speak 
of  the  Franco-Prussian  War  as  one  of  the  greatest  providential 
events  in  history,  unmindful  of  the  insult  at  Ems  by  which  it 
was  provoked.  In  the  same  way,  regardless  of  American 
menace  that  caused  it,  and  the  secret  purpose  of  the  move- 
ment, we  speak  of  the  Mexican  War  as  resulting  in  one  of  the 
greatest  blessings  to  the  American  people.  Enough  to  say 
here,  a  treaty  of  peace  was  made  between  Mexico  and  the 
United  States  of  such  character  as  that  made  between  Indians 
and  white  men,  the  superior  power  dictating  the  terms  and  tak- 
ing the  spoils.  The  annexation  of  Texas  extending  to  the  Eio 
Grande  was  the  result.  Still  more.  At  the  same  time  the 
adjustment  of  the  Oregon  line  and  title  to  the  territory  had 
been  effected,  New  Mexico  and  Upper  California  had  been 
acquired  by  treaty,  and  thus  760,560,000  acres  of  the  grandest 
part  of  the  earth's  surface,  or  nearly  900, 000  square  miles,  had, 
within  four  years,  been  added  to  the  national  domain;  an  addi- 
tion more  than  half  as  large  as  all  that  was  held  prior  to  the 
acquisition;  the  entire  domain  great  as  the  area  covered  by  all 
Europe,  Eussia  alone  excepted;  a  domain  stretching  300  miles 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Alleghanies,  and  from  500  to  700 
miles  from  the  Rockies  to  the  Pacific,  with  the  vast  Mississippi 
valley  between,  bisected  by  the  "Father  of  Waters,"  its  mouth 
a  mile  higher  than  its  source;  a  domain  reaching  also  from  the 
Gulf  to  the  British  boundary;  a  domain  affording  to  the  nation 
til  roe  grand  maritime  fronts  instead  of  one, —  viz.,  the  Atlantic, 
the  Gulf,  and  the  Pacific  .sliores, — with  6, 000  miles  of  sea-coast, 
and  making  tlie  Mississippi  river  no  longer  the  frontier,  but 
the  centre  of  the  country,  two-thirds  of  its  greatness  lying  west 
of  Minnesota.  These  were  strides  of  national  progress  gigan- 
tic as  the  stride*  of  the  fabled  gods  in  space,  the  contempla- 
tion of  which  makes  the  head  grow  dizzy. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  97 

Such  startling  expansion,  mocking  all  Eonian  conquests, 
and  of  lands  abounding  in  inexhaustible  wealth,  imposed  upon 
the  government  —  especially  in  view  of  the  swelling  tide  of 
emigration,  then  surging  over  the  Alleghanies  and  washing 
to  the  West,  and  the  increasing  dangers  from  the  Indian  tribes 
—  the  duty  of  organizing  territorial  governments  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  lives  and  property  of  the  pioneers  of  American 
civilization,  and  the  defense  of  their  homes  and  new-born 
institutions.  Greatness  was  in  the  cradle,  and  greatness  must 
defend  it.  When  we  think,  also,  how  much  still  remained  to  be 
organized  out  of  the  immense  Northwest  Territory,  ceded  by 
Virginia  to  the  United  States  in  1784,  the  extent  of  the  task 
imposed  upon  Congress,  under  the  almost  magical  settlement 
of  the  country,  can  be  somewhat  aiDpreciated,  and  how  impor- 
tant an  epoch  it  was  in  the  advancing  grandeur  of  the  nation 
when  Mr.  Sibley  entered  the  hall  ofthe  national  house  of  repre- 
sentatives. 

But  still  more.  Great  and  imperative  as  was  the  duty  of 
the  time,  a  domestic  question  in  the  states, — the  question  of 
African  slavery  in  the  country,  an  institution  whose  roots  had 
wrapped  themselves  round  the  whole  social,  religious,  and 
political  life  of  the  South, —  and  imposed  upon  the  country, 
from  its  beginning,  by  alien  nationalities, — tended,  on  the  one 
hand,  to  retard,  and  on  the  other,  to  precipitate,  congres- 
sional action  in  reference  to  the  organization  of  the  territo- 
ries. Sectional  animosity  and  partisan  politics  ran  high. 
Each  of  the  two  great  parties,  indeed,  strove  for  preponderance 
of  power  in  the  national  legislature,  and  looked  with  suspicion 
a.nd  interest  on  the  probable  character  and  influence  in  the 
national  councils  of  the  new  territories  and  new  states  that 
might  be  formed  out  of  them.  Beyond  this,  however,  a  third 
party  was  already  in  the  rapid  progress  of  its  development, 
openly  opposed  not  only  to  the  extension  of  slavery  in  the 
territories,  but  to  the  perpetuation  of  it  in  the  states.  Or,  to 
use  a  wider  generalization,  the  spectacle  presented  was  that 
of  two  distinct  and  irreconcilably  antagonizing  forms  of  civili- 
zation struggling  for  the  mastery  in  the  very  hour  of  this 
majestic  territorial  expansion.  It  was  Esau  and  Jacob  wrest- 
ling in  the  nation's  womb,  subject  to  the  eternal  decree  that 
''the  elder  shall  serve  the  younger."  One  or  the  other  must 
retire  from  the  scene;  how,  the  future  alone  could  tell.  "A 
house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand."     The  political 


98  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

excitement  of  the  times,  vainly  sought  to  be  allayed,  swelled 
skyward  like  a  rising  flood,  and  coastward,  carrying  every- 
thing before  it,  yet,  nifelstrom-like,  and  with  ascending  swirl, 
beneath  whose  great  gyration  the  spires  of  churches,  domes 
of  Capitols,  and  literary  institutions,  even  the  halls  of  Con- 
gress, disappeared,  submerged.  It  was  the  one  all-engulfing 
question  of  the  day.  Shall  the  new  territories  be  organized 
so  as  to  protect  slavery  1  Shall  Congress  interfere,  extending 
the  Missouri  compromise  line  of  1820  to  the  Pacific,  on 
the  parallel  of  thirty-six  degrees,  thirty  minutes,  all  north  of 
this  free,  all  south  of  it  bond?  Shall  that  line  be  repealed? 
Shall  the  whole  question  be  submitted,  by  both  sections  of  the 
country,  to  the  federal  judiciary?  Shall  the  territories  be 
allowed  to  determine  their  own  institutions'?  Is  slavery 
national  or  sectional!  Does  the  flag  protect  it  wherever  it 
floats  1  What  power  has  Congress,  what  power  has  the  national 
executive,  in  the  premises !  Nay  more,  what  is  the  relation 
of  the  federal  government  to  the  several  state  governments 
to  whom  it  owes  its  being?  These  were  the  questions  which, 
in  connection  with  the  territorial  interest,  disturbed  the  peace 
of  the  country,  ran  the  plowshare  of  division  not  only  between 
North  and  South,  but  through  the  heart  of  both  sections,  sun- 
dering, frequently,  the  tenderest  ties  and  dearest  relations. 
On  the  one  side  was  the  glittering  abstraction,  in  the  mouth 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  that  "all  men  are  born 
free  and  equal,"  a  proposition  as  defective  as  that  all  houses 
are  built  the  same  height  and  furnished  in  the  same  style.  On 
the  other  hand  were  the  positive  and  constitutionally  guar- 
anteed right  of  the  master  to  the  rendition  of  the  fugitive, 
and  the  conceded  right  of  the  several  states  to  determine  their 
own  domestic  institutions;  Georgia  to  become  free  to-day,  if 
she  chose,  Vermont  to  become  slave  if  her  people  preferred 
it.  What  shall  the  future  of  the  great  American  nation  be? 
that  was  the  all-controlling  question  of  the  time.  It  was  in 
1848-1849  that  Mr.  Sibley  entered  Congress.  It  was  in  1852, 
the  two  great  national  conventions,  the  one  assembled  at  Bal- 
timore, th(i  other  at  Philadelphia,  the  one  Democratic,  the 
other  Whig,  agreed,  the  one  to  resist,  the  other  to  discoimte- 
nance,  all  further  agitation  of  the  question;  upon  which  a 
third  party  was  formed,  and  the  agitation  arose  to  intensity 
so  great  as  only  to  be  closed  l)y  the  bloodiest  arbitrament  the 
nineteenth  century  has  known.     We,  of  today,  live  this  side 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  99 

that  solemn  martial  assize,  when  each  section  judged  the  other 
at  the  cannon's  mouth  and  the  bayonet's  point.  White-winged 
peace  has  returned  and  slavery  is  gone.  But  when  Henry  H. 
Sibley  stepped  into  national  life  at  Washington,  it  was  to 
breathe  an  atmosphere  surcharged  with  contention,  and  min- 
gle with  elements  that  threatened  the  absolute  ruin  of  every 
interest  he  was  sent  to  plead  and  to  represent.  A  partisan 
delegate  could  only  have  failed. 

THE  INDIAN. 

The  question  of  the  duty  and  policy  of  the  national  govern- 
ment toward  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  the  country  was  one  of 
the  absorbing  questions  of  the  time.  The  Indian  war  which 
broke  out  in  Oregon  in  1847,  immediately  after  the  adjust- 
ment of  the  Oregon  line,  still  continued.  In  the  strongest 
manner  the  president  appealed  to  Congress  to  give  authority 
at  once  to  raise  an  adequate  volunteer  force  for  the  protection 
of  the  defenseless  citizens  of  the  territory.  Troops,  whose 
qualities  had  been  tested  in  the  Mexican  War,  were  collected 
and  sent  to  the  scene  of  disturbance,  and  orders  were  issued 
to  the  Pacific  squadron  to  dispatch  a  naval  force,  with  neces- 
sary arms  and  ammunition,  to  the  seat  of  war.  The  professed 
policy  of  the  United  States  was  ostensibly  always  to  cultivate 
the  good  will  of  the  aboriginal  tribes,  and  rather  restrain 
them  from  war  by  the  arts  of  peace  than  by  force.  The  suc- 
cess of  this  iDolicy,  however,  was  too  often  sadly  defeated  by 
various  causes,  chief  among  which  were  vexatious  delays  on 
the  part  of  the  government  in  making  compensation  for  the 
lands  occuj)ied  by  the  American  emigrants,  rifles  in  hand,  and 
over  which  the  Indian  had  formerly  roamed,  and  to  which  he 
still  asserted  his  ancient  possessory  right.  Eepeated  cove- 
nants, as  repeatedly  broken;  promises  made  to  the  ear,  and 
even  recorded  for  the  eye,  yet  left  unfulfilled;  postponements, 
prevarications,  usurpations,  intrigues,  and  evasions;  faith 
violated  and  expectation  mocked;  settlements  made  long 
before  treaties  were  ratified;  sales  of  Indian  paradises  forced, 
and  the  prices  dictated;  suffering,  injustice,  and  cruelty  in 
many  ways  by  government  agents  and  irresponsible  adven- 
turers, all  could  only  engender  distrust  and  hate  in  the  breast 
01  a  brave,  generous,  and  confiding  race,  quick  to  honor  good 
faith,  as  quick  to  detect  and  avenge  deceit  and  oppression. 


100  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

The  result  could  only  be  plunder,  reprisal,  and  massacre,  end- 
iug  in  open  and  organized  war.  The  government  here  is  not 
blameless,  and  its  chapter  in  Indian  history  will  not  inure  to  its 
credit.  When  justice  to  the  red  man — not  to  mention  com- 
passion—  demanded  the  execution  of  treaties  in  which  com- 
pensation was  promised,  with  payment  prompt  and  complete, 
for  the  surrender  of  possessions  and  rights  immemorial, — and 
plunder  and  outbreak  followed  the  breach  of  faith, —  military 
force  was  employed  to  avenge,  in  turn,  that  very  condition  of 
things  which  injustice  on  the  government's  part  had  provoked. 
The  friendliest  relations  with  the  red  man  have  always  been 
possible,  and  his  noble  qualities  are  attested  by  all  who  are 
best  acquainted  with  him.  Peace  has  always  been  in  the 
power  of  the  government.  A  comparatively  trifling  pecuniary 
expense  has  more  than  once  secured  to  the  nation  millions  of 
acres  of  the  Indian's  choicest  lands  and  contentment  withal. 
No  less  than  eight  different  treaties  had  been  made  with  as 
many  different  tribes,  during  the  two  years  next  preceding 
the  time  when  Mr.  Sibley  entered  Congress,  and  whereby 
nineteen  millions  of  acres  of  land  had  been  won  by  art  and  force, 
and  ceded  to  the  government  forever,  at  a  cost  of  only  $1,840, - 
000,  a  large  part  of  which  was  consumed  in  negotiating  the 
treaties  themselves.  The  titles,  moreover,  to  all  Indian  lands 
were  extinguished  within  the  twenty-nine  states  of  the  Union. 
And  when,  apart  from  this,  it  is  known  that  death  or  com- 
pliance were  virtually  the  only  alternatives  presented  to  the 
Indian  by  the  white  man's  advancing  civilization,  and  that 
even  treaties  were  violated  as  soon  as  made,  it  is  no  wonder 
that  the  savage,  exasperated  by  his  smothered  wrongs,  and 
driven  to  despair,  should  assert  his  natural  right  of  revenge, 
and  visit,  in  indiscriminate  manner,  on  innocent  parties,  the 
punishment  due  to  the  crimes  of  the  guilty. 

We  see  how  pregnant  with  questions  of  the  first  moment 
was  the  epoch  we  are  only  a  moment  considering.  The  claims 
and  rights  of  the  white  man;  the  claims  and  rights  of  the  red 
man;  the  claims  and  rights  of  the  hIacJc  man,  were  the  chief 
issues  of  the  hour.  The  statesmen  of  the  time  were  called  to 
decide  upon  the  rights  and  claims,  both  natural  and  acquired, 
of  tlie  sons  of  Slu'm,  ITam,  and  Japhet,  all  facing  each  other 
in  a  land  Providence  had  made  already  the  smelting-pot 
for  all  nationalities,  and  the  seat  of  a  republic  the  proudest 
and  greatest  that  ever  awakened  to  glory.     That,  notwith- 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  101 

standing  this  envied  eminence,  the  moral  order  of  the  universe 
must  yet  abide,  fixed  as  the  laws  of  our  cosmic  system,  is  only 
what  wise  men  knew  and  openly  uttered.  That  Providence, 
the  laws  of  whose  dealings  with  nations  are  those  of  his  deal- 
ings with  men,  punishing  wrong  and  rewarding  right,  should 
visit  the  crimes  of  the  nation  on  its  own  head,  is  only  what  the 
history  of  nations  had  already  declared  and  Sacred  Writ  had 
foretold.  "What  attitude  Mr.  Sibley  occupied  in  reference  to 
these  great  questions,  and  the  policy  of  the  national  govern- 
ment in  relation  thereto,  we  shall  discover  further  on.  It  is 
enough  here  simply  to  touch  the  character  of  the  hour  when 
he  was  called  to  assume  the  responsibilities  of  the  representa- 
tive of  a  pioneer  people  in  the  formative  moments  of  their 
corporate  life  and  early  exertion. 

THE  AMERICAN  SYSTEM. 

Another  great  question  of  vital  economic  interest  engaged 
the  attention  of  American  statesmen  at  this  juncture  of  their 
national  history:  the  question  of  federal  power  in  relation  to 
the  administration  of  internal  affairs,  the  security  of  the  nation, 
and  the  development  of  her  industries.  When  Mr.  Sibley 
entered  the  national  councils,  the  condition  of  the  country, 
though  enjoying  abundant  prosperity,  resembled,  in  many  re- 
spects, that  which  existed  at  the  close  of  the  war  with  Great 
Britain  in  1815.  The  war  with  Mexico,  unavoidable  in  vin- 
dication of  the  honor  of  the  nation,  had  bequeathed  to  the 
people  the  burden  of  a  public  debt,  and  very  naturally  caused 
the  minds  of  men  to  revert  to  measures  of  public  policy  which 
found  expression  upon  the  termination  of  the  previous  con- 
flict. It  seemed  to  be  discovered  that  a  departure  from  the 
earlier  and  traditional  policy  of  the  country  had  occurred  in 
1815,  when  peace  was  concluded  with  Great  Britain.  It  was 
claimed  that  an  enlargement  of  the  federal  power  had  been  per- 
mitted, not  by  means  of  constitutional  amendment,  but  by 
legislative  construction,  unwarranted  by  any  just  or  fair  inter- 
pretation of  the  organic  law  of  the  nation,  but  which,  neverthe- 
less, regarded  as  necessary,  seemed  to  justify  the  establishment 
of  what  was  called  the  •  ^American  System. ' '  The  impression  was 
deep  that,  in  a  case  of  great  and  sudden  emergency,  the  national 
government  would  be  found  unable  to  cope  with  a  strong 
foreign  power,  should  such  emergency  arise.  The  contempla- 
tion of  the  foreign  policy,  concentrating  power  in  the  hands 


102  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

of  a  few,  who  are  charged  with  responsibility  for  the  fortunes 
of  the  nation  and  its  successful  deliverance  from  danger, 
seemed  to  be  a  wise  one,  notwithstanding  it  gave  the  right  to 
levy  forces  without  restraint,  and  tax  the  people  without 
stint.  There,  lay  the  strength  of  nations.  The  oppression 
such  an  aristocratic  system  might  visit  upon  the  poorer  classes 
of  the  peojjle,  and  the  lordly  undemocratic  pride  and  caste  it 
might  engender,  were  forgotten  in  the  impulse  to  devise  a 
defense  against  the  contingency  of  future  surprise.  It  was  not 
once  considered  that  the  democratic  institutions  and  early 
policy  of  the  nation  could  not  be  reconstructed  upon  the  prin- 
ciples of  European  dynastic  interests.  Hence  it  came  to  be 
thought  that  a  great  public  debt,  a  restrictive  burden  on 
trade,  a  trammeled  industry,  a  system  enriching  great  cajii- 
talists  still  more,  as  also  bond  and  property  holders  of  every 
kind,  by  enormous  taxation  levied  upon  the  labor  of  the  coun- 
try, might,  indeed,  after  all,  be  a  divine  blessing,  even  greater 
this  side  than  across  the  water.  A  national  bank  was  the  cen- 
tre and  the  soul  of  such  an  economy,  and  its  history  need  not 
here  be  recited.  A  high  protective  tariff  also  found  favor,  under 
the  eui)honious  name  of  good  will  to  "  Home  Industry"  and 
''American  Labor,"  the  laborer  induced  to  believe  that  a  tax 
upon  his  toil  was  a  boon  to  himself;  in  short,  that  a  govern- 
ment partnership  between  the  government  and  the  protected, 
whereby  the  interests  of  large  capitalists  were  euchanced  at 
the  expense  of  the  masses  of  the  people,  was  the  highroad  of 
the  poor  man  to  affluence  and  power.  Then  came  the  system 
of  internal  improvements ,  devouring  indefinite  millions  exacted 
from  the  commerce  of  the  country,  a  benevolent  safety-valve 
for  any  surplus  of  government  funds,  so  preventing  an  explo- 
sion of  the  national  exchequer.  Auxiliary  to  this  was  the 
sale  of  public  lands,  the  national  proceeds  to  be  distributed 
among  the  several  states,  and  the  heavy  endowment  of  privi- 
leged corporations,  all  for  the  benefit  of  the  protected  classes, 
the  whole  '■^American  System  "  swallowed  by  a  deluded  people, 
— the  result  being  that  the  rich  grew  richer,  while  the  poor 
grew  poorer,  until,  in  self-defense,  combinations  and  trades- 
unions  and  organizations  of  every  description,  hostile  to  capi- 
tal, monopoly,  protection  of  the  rich,  and  pouring  malediction 
on  an  aristocracy  of  wcaltli,  liave  honeycombed  the  land  and 
led  to  nihilistic  and  agrarian  outbreaks,  endangering  the  peace, 
welfare,  and  security  of  individual,  state,  and  the  national 
life. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  103 

Such  the  general  condition  of  the  country  as  to  the  great 
problems  that  lay  before  it  for  solution  when  Mr.  Sibley  began 
his  congressional  career.  What  his  views,  and  what  his  rela- 
tions to  these  great  questions,  how  he  deported  himself, 
and  what  the  fundamental  principles  that  governed  his  con- 
duct in  every  state  and  national  contingency,  and  along  the 
even  tenor  of  more  calm  development,  his  history  will  declare. 

At  the  period  of  his  entrance  into  Congress,  —  the  second 
session  of  the  Thirtieth  Congress  of  the  United  States, —  that 
body  was  in  its  glory.  Partisans  as  well  as  patriots  were 
there;  men  distinguished  for  high  ability  and  of  national 
reputation;  men  representing  conflicting  sections  of  the 
country,  yet  dwelling  in  peace,  notwithstanding  the  high 
excitement  of  the  times;  men  of  supreme  gentlemanly  de- 
meanor, as  well  as  some  of  inferior  manners,  yet  none  of 
more  commanding  personal  presence,  dignified  expression, 
more  courtly  bearing,  more  shining  natural  gifts,  or  more 
cultured  accomplishment.  His  mere  presence  attracted  atten- 
tion and  gave  influence  to  the  interest  he  represented.  In  the 
senate  were  such  men  as  Hamlin  and  Hale,  Webster  and 
Dickinson,  Dallas  and  Dayton,  Cameron  and  Calhoun,  Eeverdy 
Johnson  and  Jefferson  Davis,  Corwin  and  Benton.  In  the 
house  were  such  men  as  Horace  Mann  and  Horace  Greeley, 
Winthrop,  Wilmot  and  Wentworth,  Lincoln  and  Giddings, 
Alexander  Stephens,  and  Toombs,  Ehett  and  Preston.  The 
two  great  political  parties  of  the  day  were  the  Democratic 
and  the  Whig,  the  one  a  party  whose  existence  is  assured  so 
long  as  the  nation  endures,  the  other  a  party  whose  existence 
was  destined  to  pass  away,  and  but  one  in  a  series  of  parties 
whose  creation,  and  line  of  succession,  are  marked  by  the 
crises  which  philosphical  history  accounts  as  nodes  of  national 
development.  As  to  the  relative  strength  of  these  parties  in 
the  federal  legislature  at  that  time,  A.  D.  1848,  there  were  in 
the  senate.  Democrats  36,  Whigs  22,  total  58,  Democratic 
majority  14.  In  the  house  there  were.  Democrats  111,  Whigs 
117,  total  228,  Whig  majority  6.  In  both  houses  of  Congress 
the  sum  of  senators  and  representatives  was  296,  Democrats 
in  joint  ballot  counting  147,  Whigs  139,  giving  a  Democratic 
majority  of  8.  The  speaker  of  the  senate  was  the  Hon. 
George  M.  Dallas,  vice  president  of  the  United  States.  The 
speaker  of  the  house  was  the  Hon.  Eobert  C.  Winthrop  of 
Massachusetts.     The  president  of  the  United  States  was  the 


104  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

Hon.  James  K.  Polk  of  Tennessee,  then  in  the  last  year  of  his 
administration,  and  whose  successor,  already  chosen,  was  Gen- 
eral Zachary  Taylor,  the  hero  of  the  Mexican  War. 

The  public  interest  in  the  question  of  the  organization  of 
new  territories,  soon  to  become  new  states  in  the  Union, 
affected  as  that  question  was  by  the  domestic  question  already 
adverted  to,  may  be  judged  by  the  fact  that  so  soon  as  the 
senate  of  the  United  States, — assembled  in  Thirtieth  Congress, 
second  session,  December  4,  1848,  at  12  m.,  forty-one  sena- 
tors in  their  seats, — had  aj^prised  the  house  of  representatives 
that  a  quorum  of  the  senate  had  appeared  and  the  senate  was 
ready  for  business,  the  Hon.  Stephen  A.  Douglas  of  Illinois 
immediately  arose  and  gave  notice  that  on  the  next  day  he 
would  ask  leave  to  introduce  a  ^^  hill  to  establish  the  Territory 
of  Minnesota.^''  At  the  same  hour,  in  the  house  of  representa- 
tives, the  Hon.  James  Wilson  of  New  Hampshire — one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-eight  representatives  having  answered  to 
their  names — also  immediately  arose  to  a  privileged  question 
in  reference  to  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin.  The  case  was  this: 
In  the  last  Congress,  1847,  at  the  commencement  of  the  ses- 
sion, the  Territory  of  Wisconsin  had  been  represented  by  the 
Hon.  M.  Tweedy,  its  delegate.  During  the  session  Wiscon- 
sin was  admitted  as  a  state,  but  with  diminished  boundaries, 
the  river  St.  Croix  being  made  the  extreme  northwestern  line 
of  delimitation,  thereby  severing  from  the  State  of  Wisconsin 
a  portion  of  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin  equal  to  20,000  square 
miles,  and  covered  by  a  population  of  between  4,000  and  5,000 
souls,  all  the  counties  west  of  the  St.  Croix  being  thus  virtually 
deprived  of  a  government,  and  the  populatian  left  defenseless 
and  without  right  of  representation,  unless,  notwithstanding 
the  admission  of  Wisconsin  as  a  state,  the  old  territorial  gov- 
ernment and  rights  of  the  people  still  existed  in  accordance 
with  the  original  organic  act  still  unrepealed  by  Congress. 
Subsequently  to  the  time  when  the  representatives  from  the 
State  of  Wisconsin  took  their  seats  in  the  house,  the  then  ter- 
ritorial delegate  from  Wisconsin  had  formally  resigned  his. 
seat,  leaving  the  residuum  of  Wisconsin  unrepresented  in  Con- 
gress. Besides  this,  the  former  governor  of  the  territory,  Gov- 
ernor Dodge,  now  elected  to  the  senate  of  the  United  States, 
had  vacated  liis  chair,  leaving  the  territorial  secretary,  John 
Catlin,  as  ex-officio  pi-escnt  acting  governor  of  the  Territory  of 
Wisconsin,  unless  such  tci  ritory  is  decreed  bs  ipso  facto  nou- 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  105 

existent  by  constructive  interpretation  of  the  act  of  Congress 
admitting  Wisconsin  as  a  state.  Governor  Catlin  had  issued 
his  proclamation  to  the  people,  October  9,  1848,  to  meet  at 
their  voting  precincts  October  30,  1848,  then  and  there  to 
elect  a  delegate  to  Congress,  in  pursuance  of  which  the  Hon. 
Henry  H.  Sibley  was  chosen.  Bearing  the  certificate  of  the 
governor  to  his  election,  and  authenticated  by  the  seal  of  the 
territory,  and  also  bearing  a  memorial  to  Congress  and  to  the 
president  of  the  United  States,  from  the  citizens  of  the  por- 
tion excluded  from  the  State  of  Wisconsin,  Mr.  Sibley  now 
appeared  before  the  house  of  representatives,  duly  accredited 
and  qualified,  to  claim  his  seat  as  delegate  from  the  Territory 
of  Wisconsin.  Such  was  in  substance  the  presentation  of  the 
case  to  the  house,  as  a  matter  of  privilege,  by  Hon.  James 
Wilson  of  ^ew  Hampshire. 

The  importance  of  the  question  could  not  be  overrated.  It 
was,  in  many  respects,  novel  and  unprecedented.  It  affected 
not  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota  alone,  but  the  whole  sisterhood 
of  states  and  territories  in  the  Union.  It  dealt  with  vested 
rights  and  organic  acts,  apparently  colliding.  It  presented  a 
half-score  of  dilemmas  which  seemed  to  offer  no  choice  to  the 
statesman  but  to  be  impaled  on  either  horn.  If  5,000  people 
and  20,000  square  miles  of  territory  can  be  disfranchised  and 
disorganized  by  erection  of  a  state  with  diminished  bounda- 
ries, while  yet  the  original  organic  act  remains  in  terms  unre- 
pealed, why  not  10,000  people  and  100,000  square  miles!  On 
the  other  hand,  can  the  people  of  a  territory  have  a  co- existent 
dual  organization,  dual  government,  and  dual  representation 
in  Congress? — be  a  state  in  one  part  and  a  territory  in  another 
at  the  same  time?  Would  it  have  solved  the  case  if,  when 
Wisconsin  was  admitted  as  a  state,  her  womehad  been  changed? 
These  were  problems,  and  on  the  answer  to  them  depended 
Mr.  Sibley's  success  or  defeat  as  a  delegate  from  the  Territory 
of  Wisconsin.  The  Hon.  Mr.  Wilson  supported  warmly  the 
claim  of  Mr.  Sibley  and  the  rights  of  his  constituency  to  rep- 
resentation, citing  what  he  deemed  analogous  instances  in  the 
early  history  of  Ohio  and  Michigan,  and  hoped  the  house, 
without  further  discussion,  would  proceed  at  once  to  admit  Mr. 
Sibley  to  his  seat.  The  Hon.  Mr.  Cobb  of  Georgia  expressing 
the  wish  that  a  question  so  grave  and  unusual  might  not  be 
pressed  to  a  vote  at  that  time,  and  Mr.  Wilson  consenting,  the 
whole  matter,  with  all  the  papers  in  the  case,  was  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Elections,  to  be  reported  on  at  a  future  day 


106  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

It  was  but  natural  that  such  an  introduction  to  the  house 
should  only  direct  the  eyes,  not  alone  of  representatives,  but 
of  senators,  also,  with  rare  interest,  to  the  person  of  the  dele- 
gate from  Wisconsin.  All  the  more  was  this  true,  inasmuch 
as  the  region  from  which  he  came,  though  represented  the 
former  year  as  part  of  Wisconsin,  had  now  by  Wisconsin  been 
''left  in  the  cold,"  and  the  fame  of  the  delegate  as  the  "prince 
of  pioneers"  and  a  " mighty  hunter "  withal,  had  already 
preceded  him.  In  the  vigor  of  his  manhood,  an  athlete  by 
nature,  stately  in  form,  of  proportions  magnificent,  and  but 
then  in  his  thirty-seventh  year,  his  case  and  cause  excited 
more  interest  than  any  other  that  occupied  the  attention  of 
Congress  during  that  whole  session.  It  began  with  t\iQ  first 
day  of  the  session.  It  closed  with  the  last  day  of  the  session. 
All  the  way  through  from  December  4,  1848,  to  March  3, 1849, 
the  "Delegate  from  Wisconsin"  was  a  theme  for  universal  re- 
mark. There  is  something  amusing  in  his  own  subsequent 
account  of  his  advent  to  Washington,  given  in  late  years  to 
the  Minnesota  State  Historical  Society,  ^  and  from  which  we 
take  the  following,  of  special  interest  to  the  reader.  Speak- 
ing of  his  first  entrance  into  the  house,  he  says:  "When  my 
credentials  as  delegate  were  presented  by  the  Hon.  James 
Wilson  of  New  Hampshire  to  the  house  of  representatives, 
there  was  some  curiosity  manifested  by  the  members  to  see 
lohat  kind  of  a  person  had  been  elected  to  represent  the  distant 
wild  territory  claiming  representation  in  Congress.  I  was 
told  by  a  New  England  member,  with  whom  I  became  subse- 
quently quite  intimate,  that  there  was  some  disappointment  felt 
when  I  made  my  appearance,  for  it  was  expected  that  the 
delegate  from  this  remote  region  would  make  his  debut,  if  not 
in  full  Indian  costume,  at  least  with  some  peculiarities  of 
dress  and  manners,  characteristic  of  the  rude  and  semi- civilized 
people  who  had  sent  him  to  the  capitol."  In  another  place, 
he  informs  us  that  when,  subsequently  to  his  admission,  the 
bill  for  the  organization  of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota  came 
up  for  consideration  in  the  house,  the  Hon.  Joseph  Eoot  of 
Ohio  assailed  the  same  with  sarcastic  abuse  and  ridicule, 
"denouncing  the  measure  as  farcical  and  absurd,  exclaiming 
vehemently  against  the  formation  of  a  temporary  govern- 
ment in  a  hyperborean  region  where  agricultural  pursuits 

1  ColluctionH  Minn.  Hist.  Soc,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  2,270. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  107 

were  impracticable,  and  where  no  white  man  would  go,  unless 
to  cut  pine  logs.  Others  took  a  similar  view  of  the  subject." 
Upon  which  Mr.  Sibley  remarked :  ' '  Probably  these  iviseacres, 
such  as  are  still  in  the  land  of  the  living,  have  had  occasion  to  mod- 
ify their  opinions,  somewhat,  since  that  period.''^ ^  They  were 
doubtless  unaware  that  the  delegate  from  Wisconsin  Territory 
had  been  crowned  already  with  honors  none  of  them  ever 
wore,  before  some  of  them  ever  dreamed  of  political  life,  and 
that  in  the  twenty-seventh  year  of  his  age,  by  appointment  of 
the  governor  of  Iowa,  he  had  been  constituted  sole  judge,  and, 
in  the  absence  of  a  code,  supreme  law-giver,  over  a  domain  as 
large  as  the  Empire  of  France,  and  that  his  table  at  Mendota 
had  been  honored  by  guests  of  scientific  and  political  renown, 
attracted  to  his  mansion  not  only  from  the  United  States  but 
from  foreign  lands.  Still  less  did  they  know  that,  with  just 
pride,  he  could  quote  an  ancestry  renowned  for  high  judicial, 
military,  and  naval,  fame  in  the  history  of  the  country  from 
the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  War  down  to  the  then  present, 
and  remount  even  to  the  days  of  the  Plantagenets.  Of  Mr. 
Sibley's  personal  appearance  and  of  the  exalted  esteem  in 
which  the  delegate  from  Wisconsin  was  held  by  a  constitu- 
ency who  intrusted  to  his  wisdom  and  talents  the  charge  of 
their  greatest  ambition  and  loftiest  hope,  the  tribute  paid  him 
by  one  of  the  first  men  of  Minnesota  ^  will  be  all  sufiicient. 
The  annotator  and  editor  of  her  Historical  Collections  says: 
''Were  these  annals  only  to  meet  the  eye  of  the  pioneer,  or 
present  population  of  Minnesota,  it  would  be  unnecessary  to 
speak  of  the  personal  appearance,  the  mental  or  moral  attri- 
butes of  General  Sibley,  where  he  and  they  are  so  well  known; 
but  as  they  will  be  perused  in  after  time  and  in  other  lands, 
and  inasmuch  as  the  question  was  raised,  it  may  be  well  to 
observe  that  the  pioneers  of  Minnesota  were  justly  proud  of 
the  manly  bearing,  mental  qualities,  and  exemplary  char- 
acter of  the  man  of  their  choice,  regarding  these  as  ample 
offset  for  any  lack  of  population  or  commercial  importance  that 
might  be  urged  against  their  claims  to  recognition.  Nor  were 
they  visionary.  The  writer  of  this  note,  not  then  a  resident 
of  Minnesota,  spent  a  portion  of  the  winter  and  spring  of 
1849  at  the  national  capital,  and  can  bear  witness  to  the  jus- 


1  Ibid.,  p.  269. 

2  Chief  Justice  Goodrich. 


108  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

tice  of  these  expectations.  To  say  that  the  delegate  did  not 
suffer  by  comparison  icith  the  members  of  the  bodrj  to  which  the  old 
settlers  had  accredited  him,  would  fail  to  do  justice  to  their 
good  taste.  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  would,  by  his  stately  bear- 
ing, have  attracted  favorable  notice  at  the  most  refined  courts 
of  Europe;  his  literary  contributions  in  his  younger  days, 
both  in  his  own  name  and  under  the  7io?/i  de  plume  of  ^  Hal  a 
Dakotah,^'^  proved  him  to  be  a  forcible  and  finished  writer, 
while  his  letter  to  Senator  Foote,  which  appeared  in  the  Wash- 
ington U7iio7i,  February,  1850,  gave  to  the  outside  world  the 
first  authentic  information  concerning  these  regions,  and  did 
much  to  attract  public  attention  hither.  Of  his  personal 
character  it  would  seem  unnecessary  to  speak;  above  re- 
proach, courtly  and  kind,  he,  while  leading  a  singularly 
laborious  life,  yet  finds  time  to  identify  himself  with  every 
good  and  charitable  work,  and  is  the  staunch  and  sympathetic 
friend  of  the  frontiersman  in  his  hour  of  need."- 

This  is  high  praise,  and  from  the  pen  of  one  who  himself 
has  merited  and  received  praise.  ^^Laudari  laudato,^ ^  is  not  the 
common  lot  of  mankind.  Were  the  encomium  traced  in  gold 
it  would  not  be  too  costly  a  tribute  to  one  who  deserved  so 
well  of  his  fellows.  Were  it  spread  broadcast  over  the  world 
it  would  not  be  a  fame  too  wide  for  one  whose  virtues  and 
years  have  already  placed  him  beyond  the  reach  of  empty 
flattery,  and  made  him  indifferent  alike  to  the  praise  or  blame 
of  men. 

Twenty-eight  days  elapsed  after  the  reference  of  the  case  and 
the  papers  in  the  case  to  the  Committee  on  Elections,  before  a 
report  on  the  same  was  made  to  the  house.  Meanwhile,  Mr. 
Sibley  appeared  before  the  committee  to  plead  in  defense  of 
the  rights  of  his  constituents  to  a  government  and  to  federal 
representation.  His  speech  before  the  committee,  December 
22,  1848, — his  maiden  effort  in  Congress, — is  one  of  which  any 
constituency  might  well  be  proud,  and  not  only  reflected  honor 
on  himself,  but  determined  the  result  of  the  whole  sharp 
struggle.  He  proved  himself  the  peer  of  any  debater  in  the 
councils  of  the  nation.^ 

It  is  but  the  most  brief  and  succinct  synopsis  of  this  initial 
effort  that  we  can  here  give.     Confronted  in  committee  by  the 

1  Also  under  li in  Iiidiaii  nanio,  "  Wdlker-in-the-Pines." 

2  Ibid.,  p.  271  ;   Nole.,  by  Chief  Justice  (ioodrlch. 

3  See.  Minn.  Illst.  Coll.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  69-76. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  109 

Hon.  Mr.  Boyden  of  North  Carolina,  a  reputed  politician,  who, 
with  bitter  pertinacity  and  scornful  expression,  championed  the 
outlawry  of  both  Mr.  Sibley  and  his  constituency,  on  the  ground 
that  the  act  of  Congress  admitting  "Wisconsin  as  a  state  did, 
ipso  facto,  and  without  further  legislation,  dissolve  and  remand 
to  chaos  the  residuum  of  the  territory,  by  delimitation,  Mr.  Sib- 
ley asserted  the  two  following  propositions :  (1)  That  the 
certificate  of  Governor  Catlin,  under  seal  of  the  Territory  of 
Wisconsin,  was  prwia  facie  evidence  of  the  legality  of  his  elec- 
tion; and  (2)  that  the  residuum  of  the  territory,  after  the 
admission  of  its  main  portion  as  a  state,  remained  in  full  pos- 
session of  the  same  rights  and  immunities  it  enjoyed  prior  to 
said  admission,  and  which  were  secured  to  the  people  of  the 
whole  territory  by  the  original  organic  act. 

The  first  proposition  was  conceded.  In  support  of  the 
second,  and  in  demolition  of  the  sophistries  of  Mr.  Boyden  and 
others  acting  with  him,  Mr.  Sibley  offered :  (1)  The  general 
argument  that  when  a  large  portion  of  a  territory  is  not  included 
in  the  new.-born  state  carved  from  the  \chole  territory,  and 
Congress  leaves  the  organic  act  unrepealed,  this  fact  in  con- 
nection with  the  fact  that  the  general  government  is  under 
obligation  to  afford  protection  to  all  its  citizens,  is  conclusive 
in  the  premises  and  ipso  facto  determined  his  right  as  the  dele- 
gate of  the  territory  to  a  seat  on  the  floor  of  the  house.  (2) 
By  contrary  supposition  Congress  could  disorganize  territories, 
and  disfranchise,  at  its  pleasure;  a  policy  fit  for  despots,  but 
repugnant  to  our  American  institutions.  (3)  International  law 
consecrates  the  rule  that,  except  for  purposes  of  public  safety, 
no  government  can  abandon  at  will  any  province,  county, 
town,  or  individual.  By  the  law  of  nations,  the  right  to  citizen- 
ship is  the  inalienable  and  imprescriptible  right  of  every  sub- 
ject. (4)  By  the  ordinance  of  1787,  all  the  benefits  of  civil 
government  and  proportionate  representation  in  Congress 
were  organically  secured  to  the  whole  vast  territory  of  the 
IsTorth  west,  ceded  by  Virginia  to  the  United  States,  and  of  which 
territory  Wisconsin  was  a  part.  (5)  By  the  organic  act  estab- 
lishing the  Territory  of  Wisconsin,  an  act  still  unrepealed. 
(6)  By  historic  precedents;  (a)  in  the  history  of  the  admission 
of  the  delegate  from  the  Northwest  Territory  after  Ohio  was 
admitted  as  a  state,  (b)  in  the  history  of  the  admission  of  the 
delegate  from  the  Territory  of  Michigan,  after  that  state  had 
framed  a  constitution  and  sent  senators  and  representatives  to 


110  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

Congress.  (7).  By  congressional  concession,  it  being  undeniable 
that,  although  the  precedents  cited  did  not  at  every  point 
cover  the  present  case,  inasmuch  as  in  the  Ohio  case  the  right 
of  the  delegate  to  a  seat  was  not  formally  passed  upon  by  Con- 
gress, and  in  the  Michigan  case,  the  senators  and  representa- 
tives of  the  state  had  not  yet  taken  their  seats,  Congress  never- 
theless accorded  to  the  territorial  delegates  their  seats  in  the 
house  in  both  cases.  (8)  By  logical  law,  graved  ineffaceably 
upon  the  tablets  of  every  man's  mind,  viz.,  that  the  whole 
onus  pi'obandi  for  the  contrary  view  rests  upon  those  who  deny 
to  the  residuum  of  Wisconsin  Territory  its  legal  existence  and 
the  right  of  its  people  to  their  present  government  and  repre- 
sentation; both  the  presumi)tion  in  law  and  the  facts  in  history 
being  for  the  residuum,  and  not  against  it.  (9)  By  judicial 
construction.  The  organic  act  of  Congress  creating  a  territory 
continues  in  force  over  the  whole  teii'itory  until  repealed  by 
the  same  legislative  authority.  The  questions  of  dimension 
and  population  are  incident,  not  essential,  to  the  principle 
involved.  Division  of  territory  is  not  destruction.  ,  Moreover, 
Congress  authorizes  the  division  of  large  territories,  into  one 
or  more,  without  detriment  to  the  several  parts. 

Furthermore,  in  direct  reply  to  Mr.  Boyden's  sophistries 
and  sneers:  (l)The  gentleman  from  North  Carolina  was  griev- 
ously in  error  when  alleging  that  never,  during  the  first  grade  of 
territorial  organization,  when  the  legislation  is  vested  in  the 
judges,  has  Congress  granted  the  right  of  representation. 
The  history  of  Michigan  confutes  the  statement.  (2)  Even 
were  it  otherwise,  the  argument  is  immaterial  and  irrelevant, 
since  the  residuum  of  Wisconsin  is  not  here  to  argue  any  ques- 
tion of  abstract  right,  but  to  insist  upon  protection  in  existing 
concrete  rights,  already  vested  by  organic  legislation.  (3) 
Taxation  of  the  residuum  without  representation  is  not  an 
American  idea,  as  the  history  of  our  country  shows.  (4)  To 
disfranchise  from  4,000  to  5,000  people,  and  disorganize  the 
territory  now  organized,  except  in  case  of  war  and  for  the 
public  safety,  and  leave  a  loyal,  tax-paying  population  of  bona 
fide  settlers  to  the  mercy  of  the  marauder  and  the  malefactor, 
would  be  an  outrage  so  monstrous  upon  our  boasted  popular 
government  as  to  draw  upon  us  the  derision  of  all  despots  and 
the  scorn  of  all  nations.  (5)  And,  finally,  this  is  the  first  time 
in  the  history  of  tlie  United  States  that  any  portion  of  its  citi- 
zens have  been  found  as  humble  suppliants,  pleading  and  en- 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  Ill 

treating  that  the  general  government  will  not  rob  them  of  their 
legal  rights  by  a  false,  sophistical,  and  forced  construction  of 
the  law  of  the  land. 

Such  the  splendid  defense  of  the  rights  of  the  Minnesotians 
then  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Territory  of  "Wisconsin.  In 
an  eloquent  peroration,  Mr.  Sibley  closed  his  speach,  saying: 

"  Sir,  were  this  a  question,  the  consequences  of  which  were  confined 
to  me  personally,  the  honorable  members  of  this  house  would  not  find  me 
here,  day  after  day,  wearying  their  patience  by  long  appeals  and  explana- 
tiona.  But,  believing,  as  I  do,  before  God,  that  my  case  and  the  question 
whether  there  is  any  law  in  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin  are  intimately  and 
indissolubly  blended,  I  trust  that  the  house  of  representatives  will,  by  its 
decision  of  the  claim  before  it,  establish  the  principle,  which  shall  be  as  a 
landmark  in  all  coming  time,  that  citizens  of  this  mighty  republic,  upon- 
whom  the  rights  and  immunities  of  a  civil  government  have  been  bestowed 
by  act  of  Congress,  shall  not  be  deprived  of  these  without  fault  or  agency  of 
their  own,  unless  under  circumstances  of  grave  and  imperious  necessity, 
involving  the  safety  and  well  being  of  the  whole  country. ' '  ^ 

There  is  no  state  in  the  Union  that  would  not  have  been 
proud  of  such  a  representative  as  the  delegate  from  Wiscon- 
sin, and  proud  of  his  maiden  effort  in  Congress.  With  a  states- 
man-like grasp,  comprehension,  and  logical  nerve,  and  backed 
by  that  moral  earnestness  of  conviction  which  lends  to  oratory 
all  its  power,  the  case  and  the  cause  of  his  constituents  were 
victoriously  pressed.  The  Committee  on  Elections  felt  its 
force.  Mr.  Boyden  and  friends,  disappointed  indeed  at  the 
first  appearance  of  the  delegate  in  the  house,  awoke  at  last  to 
learn  that  the  "Indian  costume"  might  be  donned  figuratively 
as  well  as  literally,  and  that  it  was  possible  to  put  on  ultra- 
marine and  vermilion  in  a  parliamentary  way,  and  that,  with 
parliamentary  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife  in  hand,  ^^WalJc- 
er-in-tlie- Pines''^  could  stride  successfully  for  the  capillary  ver- 
tex of  his  opponent.  The  result  of  the  speech  we  shall  see. 
Whoever  knows  anything  of  public  life,  whether  in  church  or 
state,  knows  this,  that  he  who  stands  for  a  righteous  cause 
against  men  whose  only  weapons  are  injustice,  treacherous 
policy,  sophistry,  falsehood,  prejudice,  self-will,  and  envy, 
makes  no  friends  among  those  he  has  either  vanquished, 
or  whose  wickedness  he  has  exposed.  The  baseness  of  the 
cause  betrays  the  baseness  of  the  men  upholding  it,  and  the 
sting  of  conscious  defeat  or  unavoidable  exposure  but  barbs 
the  arrow  for  a  more  malignant  mission. 

1  Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  p.  76. 


112  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

On  Tuesday,  January  2,  1849,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Thompson  of 
Indiana,  from  the  Committee  on  Elections,  submitted  to  the 
house  a  report  covering  the  whole  question,  its  substance 
being  the  argument  of  Mr.  Sibley,  and  accompanied  the  same 
by  the  following  resolution: 

"Besolved,  That  Henry  H.  Sibley  be  admitted  to  a  seat  on  the  floor  of  the 
hotise  of  representatives,  as  a  delegate  from  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin.'^ 

A  minority  report  was  also  submitted.  Both  reports, 
according  to  the  rules  of  the  house,  were  laid  on  the  table  and 
ordered  to  be  printed.  On  January  15,  1849,  the  reports  were 
taken  from  the  table  and  read  at  length  to  the  house,  where- 
upon Mr.  Thompson  moved  the  previous  question  to  cut  off 
debate,  inasmuch  as  the  reasons  pro  and  C07i  were  fully  given 
in  the  reports  themselves,  and  it  was  important  that  the  house 
should  immediately  decide  the  contest  one  way  or  the  other. 
The  moment  could  not  have  been  otherwise  than  of  the  in- 
tensest  interest  to  Mr.  Sibley.  The  previous  question  was  sec- 
onded by  a  vote  of  yeas  90  to  nays  57,  and  the  main  question 
ordered  by  the  speaker  of  the  house.  The  vote  on  the  main 
question  was  taken,  and  to  the  joy  and  relief  of  the  delegate 
from  Wisconsin,  it  stood,  yeas  124  to  nays  62,  and  so,  amid 
mutual  congratulations  and  brightened  faces  on  the  one  hand, 
with  certain  yelpings  and  scowls  on  the  other,  it  was 

'^Besolved,  That  Henry  H.  Sibley  be  admitted  to  a  seat  on  the  floor  of  the 
house  of  representatives^  as  a  delegate  from  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin." 

This  was  victory.  It  was  more.  It  was  tantamount  to  a 
decree  in  advance,  that,  in  spite  of  opposition,  Minnesota  Ter- 
ritory would  be  organized  before  the  second  session  of  the 
Thirtieth  Congress  should  expire.  To  make  assurance  doubly 
sure,  Mr.  Thompson  moved  at  once  a  reconsideration  of  the 
vote  and  that  that  motion  should  itself  be  laid  upon  the  table, 
a  parliamentary  way  of  consigning  the  opposition  forever  to 
the  tomb  of  the  Capulets.  The  vote  was  taken,  yeas  111  to 
nays  82,  such  men  as  Dickinson,  Giddings,  Greeley,  Lincoln, 
Stanton,  and  Wilmot,  voting  in  the  affirmative,  while  such  as 
Boyden,  Cobb,  Clingman,  Andrew  Johnson,  Pendleton,  and 
Toombs  voted  in  the  negative,  Whigs  and  Democrats  commin- 
gled on  both  sides.  And  so  the  Hon.  Henry  Hastings  Sibley 
took  his  seat  in  the  house,  crowned  with  laurels  such  as  no 
other  delegate  wore.     Had  there  been  telegraphic  communi- 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  113 

cation  in  those  days  with  St.  Paul,  a  hundred  guns  would 
have  voiced  and  celebrated  the  event.  Nor  is  anything 
clearer,  from  the  record  of  the  whole  procedure,  and  the 
temper  of  the  times,  than  this,  that  had  Mr.  Sibley  played  the 
role  of  a  partisan,  or  a  mere  politician,  in  a  case  so  novel  and 
peculiar,  both  he  and  his  constituents  would  have  met  humili- 
ating defeat.  Only  a  man,  tenax  propositi,  and  pure  from  par- 
tisan strife,  could,  under  the  circumstances,  have  conducted 
a  cause  so  grave  to  a  victory  so  decisive. 

It  is  the  rule,  in  divine  Providence,  that  the  greatest  move- 
ments in  the  development  of  society,  as  in  states  and  nations, 
have  but  small  beginnings,  and  that  principles  the  most  vital 
to  the  well  being  of  man  are  set  in  the  lowliest  surroundings. 
It  was  so  with  Christianity  itself.  And,  evermore,  the  same 
Providence  puts  the  right  man  always  in  the  right  place,  and 
at  the  right  time,  for  his  own  purposes;  a  man  nurtured  un- 
consciously to  himself,  by  a  special  previous  training,  for  the 
mission  to  which  he  is  appointed,  be  it  that  of  pulling  down 
or  building  up.  Statesmen  do  not  enough  recognize  this. 
And  yet  it  gleams  in  the  histories  of  prophets  and  kings  of 
sacred  story,  and  in  those  of  an  Alexander  and  Csesar,  a 
Napoleon  and  Washington,  a  Howard  and  Wilberforce,  a 
Chatham  and  a  Sumner,  in  lines  of  glittering  light.  Magni- 
tude of  territory,  population,  active  business  interests,  and 
monetary  strength,  are  not  the  measure  of  the  magnitude  of 
principle,  nor  of  a  people's  rights,  nor  of  a  nation's  glory. 
What  to  men  seems  a  "small  affair,"  and  is  deemed  an 
"unimportant  trifle,"  turns  out  to  be  a  great  affair  and  a 
momentous  issue.  The  rendition  of  the  slave  Burns,  the  Dred 
Scott  decision,  the  first  gun  fired  on  Fort  Sumter,  Hampden's 
"Ship  Money,"  and  the  Boston  "Tea  Party"  seemed  trifles. 
But  what  mighty  principles  were  involved!  "Nothing  great 
has  great  beginnings,"  says  Count  de  Maistre;  "There  is  not 
in  history  a  single  exception  to  this  law."  Pascal,  with  the 
hue  of  genius  on  his  cheek,  could  say,  "The  smallest  move- 
ment in  the  history  of  a  man  affects  all  nature,  even  as  the 
whole  sea  is  changed  by  a  pebble.  There  is  no  action  of  man 
in  this  life  so  trivial  but  that  it  is  the  beginning  of  a  chain  of 
consequences  so  great  that  none  but  God  can  predict  the  end,  " 
How  true  is  this!  The  word  "i^^?^ogue"  split  the  Greek  and 
Latin  churches.  Arnold  tells  us,  in  his  ' '  Lectures  on  Modern 
History,"  that  "a  glass  of  water,  thrown  by  the  Duchess  of 


114:  ANCESTEY,  LIFE.   AND  TIMES  OF 

Marlboro'  on  the  silk  gowu  of  Mrs.  Masharn,  changed  the  desti- 
nies of  Europe,"  and  Pascal,  with  inimitable  wit,  has  some- 
where said,  in  allusion  to  Antony,  that  "if  Cleopatra's  nose 
had  only  been  an  inch  shorter,  it  would  have  changed  the 
face  of  the  whole  world! "  It  is  true  everywhere.  Had  the 
cowboy's  nod  to  Bulow  at  Waterloo  been  directed  toward  the 
forest  above  Frischemont  rather  than  below  Planchenoit,  the 
nineteenth  century  would  have  turned  upon  another  axis. 
Had  Napoleon  not  misunderstood  the  shake  of  Lacoste's  head, 
when  pointing  to  Mont  St.  Jean,  Millhaud's  and  Kellerman's 
cuirassiers  had  not  been  ruined,  and  Waterloo  had  not  been 
lost.  So  it  is  in  the  case  before  us.  What  greatness  Minne- 
sota has  already  attained  unto,  and  to  what  greatness  she  may 
yet  attain,  all  goes  back  to  that  hour  when,  alone  almost,  and 
standing  firm  to  his  purpose  in  defense  of  the  rights  of  his 
constituency  to  their  government  and  representation,  the 
delegate  from  Wisconsin  triumphantly  secured  the  recog- 
nition of  the  same  and  a  title  to  his  seat,  and  thereby  the 
power  to  organize  Minnesota  Territory  just  when  it  was  organ- 
ized, and  there  and  then,  to  set  in  motion  the  forces  that  since 
then  have  crowned  her  progress  with  success  so  wonderful. 
Only  5,000  people!  Only  20,000  square  miles!  What  is  Min- 
nesota now!  Wise  men  in  coming  generations,  when  review- 
ing the  history  of  the  state,  and  the  history  of  Mr.  Sibley, 
will  decide  that  one  of  the  greatest  acts,  if  not  the  greatest, 
in  his  whole  career  was  when,  in  the  thirty  seventh  year  of  his 
age,  he  lifted  the  right  arm  of  his  manhood  in  behalf  of  a 
defenseless  constituency,  wrested  from  the  politician's  clutch 
his  title  to  his  seat  in  Congress,  and  put  Minnesota  on  the 
path  of  her  imperial  development. 

How  deep  the  mortification  of  defeat,  and  intense  the  per- 
tinacity of  purpose,  on  the  part  of  his  opponents,  may  be 
seen  in  two  circumstances,  (1)  that  even  after  Mr.  Sibley's 
admission  to  the  house  on  the  merits  of  the  majority  report, 
some  who  voted  affirmatively  were  induced  to  set  themselves 
right  with  others,  looking  out  for  future  interests,  by  announc- 
ing tluit  tlicir  vote  was  given  only  "in  courtesy  "of  the  delegate, 
but  "not  in  vindication  of  his  constituency;"  and  (2)  that  a 
motion  to  add  an  item  to  the  general  appropriation  bill,  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  Wisconsin  Territory  for  the  ensuing 
year,  was  at  a  certain  juncture  "voted  down."  Such  exhi- 
bitions of  littleness,  policy,  and  selfishness  are  not  always 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,   LL.D.  115 

absent  from  the  councils  of  the  nation  or  the  ways  of  great 
men.  Pompey  prevaricates,  Cfesar  deceives,  Cicero  plays 
timid.  The  house  votes  a  government,  then  cuts  off  the  sup- 
plies to  support  it! — and,  on  the  ground  that  the  delegate 
and  his  constituents  were  permitted  graciously,  "by  cour- 
tesy," to  be  called  a  territory  and  be  represented,  but  not  by 
organic  right,  and  constitutional  action  !  The  •'  tempora^''  and 
the  ^'"mores^^  were  alike  remarkable,  due  in  no  small  degree 
to  the  great  questions  then  agitating  the  whole  country,  and 
affecting  those  of  the  organization  of  territories  and  their 
admission  into  the  Union.     We  shall  see  this,  more,  hereafter. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HISTORY  OF  TEERITOEIAL  POSSESSION  AND  ADMISSION. —  OLD  VIRGINIA 
CHARTER. —  ORIGIN  OF  THE  NAME  "NORTHWEST  TERRITORY." — CON- 
SECRATED TO  FREEDOM  IN  1787.  —  THE  "LOUISIANA  PURCHASE," 
ACQUIRED  1803. —  UNIQUE  POSITION  OF  THE  STATE  OF  MINNESOTA. — 
HAD  A  "double  MOTHER."  —  CURIOUS  EIGHT-FOLD  DIFFERENT  JURIS- 
DICTIONS.— WESTERN  MINNESOTA. —  EASTERN  MINNESOTA. —  MINNE- 
SOTA A  "residuum"  at  FIRST. —  MR.  SIBLEY' S  RELATION  TO  THIS 
"residuum." — DIFFERENT  FAILURES  TO  ORGANIZE  MINNESOTA  TER- 
RITORY.—  MR.  SIBLEY'S  SUCCESSFUL  EFFORTS,  1848-1849.  —  STEPHEN  A. 
DOUGLAS. —  BILL  TO  ORGANIZE  THE  TERRITORY.  —  LOCATION  OF  THE 
CAPITOL. —  DOUBLE  GRANT  OF  LAND  FOR  SCHOOL  PURPOSES  SECURED 
BY  MR.  SIBLEY.  —  THE  SENATE  FAVORABLE  TO  THE  ORGANIZATION, 
THE  HOUSE  OPPOSED.  —  SLAVERY  QUESTION. — WILMOT  PROVISO.  —  ORDI- 
NANCE OF  1787. —  MR.  SIBLEY'S  ATTITUDE.  —  HIS  WISDOM. —  HE  TAKES 
WEBSTER'S  GROUND.  —  ON  OTHER  GROUNDS  RESISTS  THE  APPLICATION 
OF  THE  WILMOT  PROVISO.  —  THE  STRUGGLE  IN  THE  HOUSE.  —  ME.  SIB- 
LEY'S SKILL  IN  PARLIAMENTARY  TACTICS. — ADDRESSES  A  "CIRCU- 
iAR"  TO  ALL  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE  HOUSE.  —  "PREVIOUS  QUESTION." 

—  EXCITING  SCENES.  —  APPARENT  DEFEAT,  YET  SEVERAL  VICTORIES 
FOR  MR.  SIBLEY. — AMENDMENTS.  —  QNLY  FOUR  DAYS  LEFT!  —  MR.  SIB- 
LEY'S INDOMITABLE  PURPOSE  AND  SUPREME  GENERALSHIP.  —  DOUGLAS 
TO  THE  RESCUE  ! — THE  HOUSE  HANDICAPPED.  —  COMPELLED  TO  CONCUR 
WITH  THE  SENATE. — THE  BILL  PASSED  AND  MINNESOTA  A  TERRITORY. 

—  HIGH  ENCOMIUM  ON  MR.  SIBLEY. —  HIS  ARDUOUS  LABORS  AND 
FIDELITY.  —  APPROPRIATIONS  SECURED. — SIOUX  INDIANS.  —  REJOIC- 
ING   IN   ST.  PAUL. — ARRIVAL  OF  THE  STEAM  PACKET  WITH  THE  NEWS. 

—  GREAT  IMPULSE  TO  IMMIGRATION.  —  GOVERNOR  RAMSEY. —  FORMAL 
ORGANIZATION. —  "  FOUETH  OF  JULY  "  KEPT.  —  BIOTTO  FOR  THE  TER- 
RITORY.—  MR.  SIBLEY'S  RETURN  TO  HIS  CONSTITUENTS. —  ADDRESS. — 
GENERAL  JUBILEE. 

As  EVERY  special  question  stands  in  relation  to  one  more 
general,  the  organization  of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota  re- 
quires for  its  i)roper  understanding  a  brief  reference  to  the 
history  of  territorial  acquisition,  the  organization  of  territories, 
and  the  admission  of  states  into  the  Union,  prior  to  its  own 
date.  This  compels  allusion  to  what  in  history  are  known  as 
''  The  Territory  of  the  Norihivcst^^  and  the  '■^Louisiana  Purchase.''^ 
It  will  assist  the  reader  if,  opening  a  map  of  the  United  States, 
he  directs  his  eyes  to  old  ''Point  Comfort"  on  the  Atlantic 
shore,  and,  measuring  a  coast-line  two  hundred  miles  north, 
and  another  two  hundred  miles  south,  of  the  ''Point,"  thus 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  117 

fixes  the  eastern  boundary  of  "  Old  Virginia' '  the  "  Old  Domin- 
iony  As  to  the  extent  of  the  Old  Dominion,  the  whole  coun- 
try, unsurveyed,  lying  back  of  this  coast-line  of  four  hundred 
miles,  even  "from  sea  to  sea"  and  north  and  northwest  of  the 
shore-line,  indicated  as  "up"  and  "throughout"  the  unmeas- 
ured wilderness,  was  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  "Old  Col- 
ony." Geography,  one  of  the  eyes  of  History,  Chronology, 
the  other,  were  somewhat  defective,  not  only  among  the  early 
settlers  of  Virginia,  but  even  among  the  ministers  at  the  court 
of  King  James.  The  boundaries  of  Virginia  were  therefore 
quite  indefinite,  and,  to  modern  eyes,  are  quite  amusing.  In 
other  words,  by  virtue  of  various  royal  charters  to  the  London 
company,  in  1606,  1609,  1611,  and  1612,  James  Bex,  the  Vir- 
ginia settlers  came  into  possession  of  the  above  dominion  in 
the  New  "World.  The  charter  of  the  twenty-third  of  May, 
1609,  after  defining  the  sea-shore  limits  north  and  south  of 
Point  Comfort,  proceeds  to  embrace  "aZZ  that  space  and  cir- 
cuit of  land  lying  from  the  sea- coast  of  the  precinct  aforesaid, 
up  into  the  land,  throughout,  from  sea  to  sea,  ivest  and  northicest.'^ 
That  is  the  origin  of  the  expression  ^^ Northwest  Territory.' '  No 
delimitation  like  this  is  known  anywhere  in  history,  sacred  or 
profane,  except  it  be  in  that  royal  charter  which  cedes  to  the 
Messiah  ''^theheathen  for  his  inheritance  and  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth  for  his  possession,''  delimiting  ^'his  dominion  from 
sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  river  to  the  ends  of  the  earth!"  Less  large 
than  this,  the  '^precinct"  of  the  Old  Dominion  was  yet  quite 
extensive  in  its  "circuit"  and  its  "space,"  constructively 
reaching  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  upon  the  top  of 
that,  everything  "up,"  "into,"  and  "throughout"  the  whole 
continent,  "north  and  northwest."  Virginia,  modestly,  how- 
ever, never  claimed  to  exercise  jurisdiction  beyond  the  Mis- 
sissippi river,  and  so,  unconsciously,  kept  her  foot  from  French 
dominion  not  less  indefinitely  great.  What  she  did  claim  was 
jurisdiction  over  the  entire  region  east  of  the  Mississippi  and 
north  and  northwest  of  the  Ohio  rivers,  and  this  is  technically 
what  is  known  as  ^^  The  Northwestern  Territory."  And  by  a 
generosity  as  great  as  her  modesty,  she  ceded,  March  1,  1784, 
this  vast  domain  to  the  United  States,  forever.  And  not 
only  so,  but,  by  a  nobility  of  soul  great  as  both  her  modesty 
and  generosity  combined,  expressly  stipulated  that  ' '  slavery 
shall  never  be  permitted  in  the  territories  and  states  to  be  formed 
from  it,"  an   act,  says  Mr.  Sibley,  in  his  "Memoranda  and 


118  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

Notes,"  '■Hhat  icas  an  exhibition  of  magnanimity  and  devotion  to 
the  imhlic  tveal,  without  a  parallel  in  history,  and  for  which  all 
honor  is  due  to  the  Old  Dominion.'^  ^  The  act,  repeated  and  rati- 
fied in  the  celebrated  ordinance  of  1787  establishing  a  terri- 
torial government  over  all  this  domain,  the  entire  region,  as 
above  defined,  was  forever  consecrated  to  freedom,  and  out  of 
it  have  sprung,  as  if  by  magic,  the  great  states  that  now  rest 
upon  its  bosom,  and  s^  portion  of  the  State  of  Minnesota. 

Not  less  important  was  what  is  called  the  ^'■Louisiana  Pur- 
cha^e.''^  We  have  spoken  of  all  east  of  the  Mississippi  and 
north  and  northwest  of  the  Ohio  rivers.  We  come  now  to  all 
tcest  of  the  Mississippi  and  north  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  up 
to  the  British  line,  and  out  of  which  have  sprung,  also,  as  if 
by  magic,  the  great  states  of  Arkansas,  Missouri,  Kansas, 
Nebraska,  with  a  poy^ion  of  Louisiana,  and  a  portion  of  Min- 
nesota, and  several  great  territories  besides.  This  region  was 
acquired  by  the  United  States,  during  Jefferson's  administra- 
tion, from  the  French  Government,  Napoleon  Bonaparte  being 
first  consul,  the  price  agreed  upon  being  60,000,000  francs,  or 
$11,250,000  of  American  money.  The  treaty  was  ratified 
October  21,  1803,  and  formal  possession  of  the  whole  region 
taken,  in  the  name  of  the  United  States,  by  a  United  States 
commissioner  appointed  for  that  purpose,  the  public  procla- 
mation of  the  cessation  of  French,  and  establishment  of  Uni- 
ted States,  authority,  being  made  by  Governor  Claiborne, 
December  20th  of  the  same  year. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  map,  that,  of  all  the  states  formed 
from  the  Northwest  Territory  and  the  Louisiana  purchase, 
there  is  but  one  whose  boundary  lines,  east  and  west,  extend 
across  the  Mississippi,  viz.,  the  ^tate  of  Minnesota.  There  are 
but  tivo  having  part  of  the  state  on  the  west  and  part  on  the 
east  of  the  great  "Father  of  Waters,"  viz.,  Louisiana  at  the 
mouth  and  Minnesota  at  the  source  of  the  river.  But  only 
one  exists  thus,  formed  out  of  the  Northwest  Territory  and  the 
Louisiana  purchase,  which  Louisiana  was  not.  Minnesota, 
therefore,  is  the  offspring  of  a  "double  mother." 

Curious,  also,  to  an  extent  most  rare,  is  the  history  of  the 
successive  eightfold  different  jurisdictions  to  which,  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  country,  Minnesota  became  subject.  First 
of  all,  as  to  ^VcHtern  Mi)inesota,  or  the  part  loest  of  the  Missis- 
sippi,  it  was  (1)  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Province  of 

1  Memoranda  nnd  Notes,  p.  12. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  119 

Louisiana,  1803;  (2)  next,  under  that  of  the  Territory  of  Indi- 
ana, which  was  temporarily  extended  across  the  river,  1804; 
(3)  next,  under  that  of  the  Territory  of  Louisiana,  1805;  (4) 
next,  under  that  of  the  Territory  of  Missouri,  1812;  (5)  next, 
under  that  of  the  Territory  of  Michigan,  whose  boundary  line 
was  extended  in  1818  to  the  Mississippi,  and  again  to  the  Mis- 
souri river,  1834,  all  lands  belonging  to  the  United  States 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  east  of  the  Missouri  and  White  Earth 
rivers,  north  of  the  State  of  Missouri  and  south  of  the  British 
line,  being  thus  annexed  to  the  dominion  of  Michigan  and 
governed  from  Detroit;  (6)  next,  placed  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin,  1836;  and,  lastly,  under 
that  of  the  Territory  of  Iowa,  1838,  the  Mississippi  having 
been  made  the  western  limit  of  Wisconsin  when  admitted  to  the 
Union,  Under  the  jurisdiction  of  Iowa,  Minnesota  remained 
until  1845,  when  Iowa  became  a  state,  a  residuum  of  Iowa 
Territory  awaiting  its  incorporation  in  the  next  formed  Terri- 
tory of  Minnesota.  ^ 

Secondly,  as  to  Eastern  Minnesota,  or  that  part  east  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  it  was  (1)  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Territory  of  the  Northwest,  by  virtue  of  the  ordinance  of 
1787;  (2)  next,  under  that  of  the  Territory  of  Indiana,  1800; 
(3)  Territory  of  Michigan,  1805;  (4)  next,  under  that  of  the 
Territory  of  Wisconsin,  1836,  where  it  remained  until  1848, 
when  Wisconsin  was  admitted  as  a  state,  a  residuum  of  the 
Wisconsin  Territory  awaiting  its  incorporation  into  the  next 
formed  Territory  of  Minnesota,  and  which  was  the  historic 
occasion  of  the  commencement  of  Mr.  Sibley's  congressional 
career. 

Thus,  through  eightfold  different  jurisdictions,  Minnesota  has 
passed,  until  becoming  herself  a  territory.  As  often  as  a  new 
territory  was  formed,  the  resid^inm  of  the  old  passed  to  a  new 
jurisdiction,  and  as  often  as  a  new  state  was  formed  out  of  the 
new  territory,  the  residuum  awaited  incorporation  into  the  ter- 
ritory next  in  order.  The  first  contest  ever  made  in  the  history 
of  the  country  for  the  recognition  of  the  organic  rights  of  the 
residuum,  as  such,  was  made  by  Mr.  Sibley,  who  himself —  to 
use  his  own  words  —  was  "successively  a  citizen  of  Michigan, 
Wisconsin,  Iowa,  and  Minnesota  territories,  without  changing 
his  (my)  residence  at  Mendota."^ 


1  See  U.  S.  Charter  and  Constitution,  Part  1,  p.  982. 

2  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.  Soc,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  2,  265. 


120  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 


Out  of  the  Northwest  Territory  and  the  Louisiana  purchase 
were  formed  many  territories  which  have  already  become 
magnificent  states.  They  need  not  here  be  enumerated.  When, 
however,  "Wisconsin  became  a  state,  May  29, 1848,  her  western 
boundary  was  fixed  by  act  of  Congress  at  the  St.  Croix  river, 
as  heretofore  stated,  and  no  positive  act  of  Congress  legislating 
any  special  provision  for  the  protection  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  residuum  between  the  St.  Croix  and  the  Mississippi  they 
were  left  unprotected,  unless  the  old  government  continued 
still  in  force  west  of  the  St.  Croix,  and  unless  the  legal  exist- 
ence of  the  residuum  should  be  recognized  by  Congress  as 
unextinguished  even  after  the  admission  of  the  state.  This 
question  was  decided  through  the  magnificent  championship 
of  the  people's  rights  by  Mr.  Sibley,  and  the  conquest  of  his 
seat  in  the  house  of  representatives,  as  a  ''duly  elected  dele- 
gate from  Wisconsin  Territory." 

The  5,000  people  covering  the  20,000  square  miles  alluded 
to,  and  among  whom  were  men  of  mark,  such  as  Henry  Hast- 
ings Sibley,  Henry  M.  Eice,  Franklin  Steele,  Morton  S.  Wil- 
kinson, Henry  L.  Moss,  John  McKusick,  Joseph  E.  Brown, 
Martin  McLeod,  William  E.  Marshall,  and  others,  were  not 
content  to  abide  under  a  narrowed  jurisdiction,  much  less  a 
doubtful  one,  and  remain  as  a  discarded  fragment  of  the  last 
formed  state  of  the  Union.  They  proposed  the  organization  of 
another  territory,  the  Territory  of  Minnesota.  It  was  the  whole 
objective  ultimate  point  of  the  contest  waged  as  to  the  right 
of  Mr.  Sibley  to  a  seat  in  Congress.  Should  a  second  bill  fail, 
as  the  first  one  had  done  before  Mr.  Sibley's  advent  to  the 
house,  yet  the  recognition  of  the  residuum  as  a  legal  existence 
would  be  of  value  to  the  settlers  west  of  the  St.  Croix. 
Should  the  seat  be  won,  the  second  bill  was  sure  to  succeed 
through  the  personal  influence  of  Mr.  Sibley  and  his  friends, 
among  whom  were  Henry  M.  Eice  and  Franklin  Steele,  who, 
in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Sibley,  labored  most  earnestly  to 
secure  the  passage  of  the  bill. 

Mr.  Sibley's  seat  once  won,  he  turned  his  whole  attention 
to  the  accomplishment  of  the  ulterior  object  of  his  advent  to 
Washington,  viz.,  the  organization  of  Minnesota  Territory. 
All  the  more  did  he  feel  the  importance  of  success  in  this 
undertaking,  inasmuch  as  a  bill  had  already  been  introduced 
to  this  end,  in  1846,  to  meet  only  with  failure,  though  reported 
back  to  tlie  house  favorably  by  Hon.  Stephen  A.  Douglas, 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  121 

then  a  member  of  the  house,  and  chairman  of  its  Committee 
on  Territories.^  And,  yet  again,  the  disposition  of  certain 
members  of  the  house,  after  voting  affirmatively  for  the  admis- 
sion of  Mr.  Sibley  as  a  delegate  from  Wisconsin,  to  qualify 
their  vote  by  the  ^^  courtesy  ^^  explanation,  omened  no  good  to 
the  enterprise  in  which  he  was  engaged.  With  laudable  tact 
and  wise  statesmanship,  therefore,  Mr.  Sibley  personally  per- 
suaded Mr.  Douglas  himself,  now  in  the  senate,  and  chairman  of 
the  senate's  Committee  on  Territories,  to  introduce  a  bill  for 
the  organization  of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  to  which  Mr. 
Douglas  consented,  and  gave  notice,  on  the  first  day  of  the 
session,  December  4, 1848,  of  his  purpose  to  do  so.  ^  This  bill, 
in  connection  with  others  organizing  the  territories  of  Ne- 
braska and  New  Mexico,  was  recommitted  to  the  Committee  on 
Territories  in  the  senate,  December  20,  and  on  January  8, 
1849,  was  made  the  special  order  of  the  day.  On  the  eigh- 
teenth, the  senate  concurred  in  the  amendments  of  the  commit- 
tee, Senator  Butler  of  South  Carolina  voting  for  it,  though 
deeming  it  a  violation  of  the  ordinance  of  1787,  which  limited 
the  number  of  states  to  be  formed  out  of  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory to  five,  while  Senator  Westcott  of  Florida  deemed  two 
judges  sufficient  for  the  territory,  the  amendment  being  con- 
curred in,  the  number,  however,  afterward  increased  to  three. 
On  the  nineteenth  day  of  January,  the  further  consideration 
of  the  bill  having  been  postponed  to  that  date,  the  bill  was, 
after  further  discussion,  read  a  third  time,  and  passed.  Thus 
far  Mr.  Sibley  was  generously  and  kindly  favored  in  his 
effort  by  Mr.  Douglas,  who  had  permitted  him  to  make  cer- 
tain changes  in  the  bill  in  order  the  more  completely  to  meet 
the  wishes  of  his  constituents.  Chief  among  these  changes 
was  (1)  the  retention  of  the  name  ^^  Minnesota,'^  as  found  in 
the  original  bill  of  1846,  introduced  by  the  Son.  Morgan  L.  Mar- 
tin, then  delegate  from  Wisconsin  Territory,  instead  of  the 
name  ^^Itasca,'^  which  Mr.  Douglas  preferred;  (2)  the  substitu- 
tion of  ^^St.  PauV^  as  the  capital  of  tJie  territory,  and  capital  of  the 
future  state,  instead  of  ^^ Mendota,^^  which,  again,  Mr.  Douglas 
preferred,  deeming  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi,  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Minnesota  rivers,  and  ''Pilot 
Knob,"  at  Mendota,  the  place,  of  all  others,  most  appropriate 
for  the  capital  and  the  capitol  buildings;  and  (3)  a  double  grant 


1  See  Neill's  History  of  Minnesota,  p.  490. 

2  See  Congressional  Globe,  Thirtieth  Congress,  Second  Session,  p.  1. 


122  ANCESTEY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

of  land,  hco  sections,  viz.,  16  and  36,  instead  of  one,  viz.,  16,  as 
reported  in  the  original  hill,  for  schools  in  every  township  of  the  new 
territory.  Eeferring  to  this  last  and  important  benefit  to  the 
people  of  Minnesota  for  all  time,  and  from  which  a  revenue  by 
the  sale  of  lands  has  already  reached  the  sum  of  over  $4,000,- 
000,  Mr.  Sibley  remarks,  that  it  was  the  first  concession  of  the 
kind  ever  made  to  any  territory  east  of  the  Eocky  Moun- 
tains, Oregon  alone  in  1848  having,  when  organized,  received 
a  like  double  grant  for  like  purposes.  To  use  his  own  words 
when  speaking  of  this,  he  says:  ''I  succeeded  in  obtaining  the 
same  for  Minnesota,  thus  securing,  for  the  first  time,  east  of 
the  Eocky  Mountains,  one-eighteenth  of  the  entire  public  domain, 
in  a  newly  organized  territory,  for  schools.  It  is  not  probable 
that  so  munificent  a  grant  coujd  have  been  secured  if  the  im- 
pression had  not  been  general  in  Congress  that  the  soil  and  climate 
were  alike  unsuited  to  the  production  of  cereals  and  vegetables,  and 
the  land  therefore  of  little  value!  ^^  This  is  not  the  place  to  turn 
aside  and  dwell  upon  the  disinterestedness  and  loyalty  of  Mr. 
Sibley,  who,  by  yielding  to  the  preference  of  Mr.  Douglas, 
could  have  speculated  an  immense  fortune  into  his  pocket, 
'^Mendota"  being  his  place  of  residence  for  many  years,  and 
freighted  with  large  business  interests  of  his  own.  It  is  enough 
in  passing  to  record  the  judgment  of  one  well  able  to  judge, 
and  say  that  ^Ht  loas  only  by  the  unbending  integrity  and  honesty 
of  General  Sibley  insisting  upon  the  original  program  that  the  capi- 
tal was  saved  to  St.  Pa^(V'^ 

If,  however,  the  senate  was  favorable  to  the  bill  for  organ- 
izing Minnesota  Territory,  not  so  the  house.  When  the  bill 
as  passed  by  the  senate  came  to  the  house  its  Committee  on 
Territories  loaded  it  with  amendments,  such  as  (1)  changing 
the  boundary  line,  (2)  causing  the  act  to  take  effect  March 
10,  1849,  instead  of  on  the  day  of  its  passage,  in  order  to  pre- 
clude the  president,  Mr.  Polk,  from  making  the  appointments; 
besides  other  amendments  seeking  (1)  to  incorporate  the  "  Wil- 
mot  Proviso,"  and  (2)  to  intrude  special  clauses  from  the 
''Ordinance  of  1787"  excluding  slavery,  both  which  were 
utterly  superfluous,  and  meant  only  to  provoke  i)rotracted 
debate  to  the  injury  of  the  bill;  in  short,  every  means  possible 
to  delay,  embarrass,  obstruct,  and  defeat,  the  bill.  Against  all 
these  Mr.  Sil)]('y  resolutely  set  his  face,  determined  from  the 
first  to  move  the  "previous  question." 

1  Address  by  Hon.  Charles  E.  Flandrau  to  tbe  Pioneer  Association,  1886,  p.  12. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  123 

' '  I  was  averse, ' '  he  says,  ' '  to  these  changes  because  we  had  already  suf- 
ficient territory  without  extending  our  line  to  the  Missouri  river;  and,  as  to 
the  appointments,  I  stated  that  Mr.  Polk  could  exercise  the  right  to  nomi- 
nate two  to  three  officers,  and  that  under  any  circumstances  the  proposed 
amendment  was  a  breach  of  delicacy  and  propriety.  I  resisted  the  Wilmot 
proviso,  as  it  yvaswhoUi/  superfluous,  the  introduction  of  slavery  being  already  pro- 
hibited by  the  ordinance  of  1787,  on  the  east  of  the  3Tississippi,  and  on  the  ivest  side 
by  the  act  of  1819,  establishing  the  3fissouri  line.  The  proposition  was  there- 
fore voted  down  in  committee,  but  brought  into  the  house  as  an  amendment 
by  the  minority  of  the  committee,  and  only  kept  from  being  adopted  and 
producing  a  fierce  and  angry  discussion  which  would  have  resulted  in  the 
loss  of  the  bill,  by  my  moving  and  refusing  to  withdraw  the  previous  ques- 
tion which  cut  off  all  amendments.  On  the  other  points  I  was  overruled 
in  committee."^ 

Here  is  the  place  to  consider,  but  a  moment,  the  relation  of 
Mr.  Sibley  to  the  great  domestic  question  of  slavery  which 
then  convulsed  the  whole  country,  and  the  propriety  of  his 
resistance  to  the  introduction  of  the  '^Wilmot  Proviso^  ^  into  the 
bill  for  the  organization  of  Minnesota  Territory.  First  of  all, 
it  was  not  as  a  party  man.  Whig  or  Democrat,  he  was  elected 
as  a  delegate  to  Congress,  no  political  party  of  any  kind  hav- 
ing any  existence  in  the  territory  at  that  time.  In  the  next 
place,  every  foot  of  ground  in  the  entire  ]3ublic  domain,  state 
and  territorial,  had  already  been  fixed  for  slavery  or  freedom 
by  solemn  federal  guarantees  and  treaties,  and  by  irrepealable 
law  beyond  the  action  of  Congress,  if  i)ublic  faith  were  to  be  kept 
inviolate.  Thirdly,  the  commitment  of  Mr.  Sibley's  mixed  con- 
stituency to  one  or  other  side  of  the  great  question  then  pend- 
ing would  have  been  without  authority,  and  awakened  in  them 
at  that  time  the  very  strife  his  wisdom  deprecated.  Lastly, 
his  own  commitment  of  himself  by  participation  in  the  heated 
contests  that  arose  upon  that  question  would  have  made  the 
organization  of  the  territory  an  impossibility,  and  postponed 
the  object  of  his  mission,  it  might  have  been,  for  many  years 
to  come.  It  was  enough  of  risk  to  meet  the  opposition  that  first 
confronted  him  by  prejudice  against  the  "pine-log,  hyperbo- 
rean region"  whence  he  came.  But  to  enter  the  lists  upon 
the  slavery  question,  in  a  Congress  almost  equally  divided, 
what  reasonable  hope  could  be  indulged  of  even  the  least 
measure  of  success  in  the  work  intrusted  to  him?  The  non- 
possession  of  his  seat  had  been  the  forfeit  of  his  folly  had 
he  acted  otherwise  than  as  he  did,  and  with  that  disaster  all 

1  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  I,  p.  64. 


124  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

else  had  failed.  But  beyond  this,  his  wisdom  and  statesman- 
ship displayed  themselves  herein,  that  the  proposed  attach- 
ment of  the  "  Wilmot  Proviso"  was,  to  use  his  own  words, 
^^icholly  surperfluoiis.^^  It  could  accomplish  nothing.  It  could 
have  no  effect  upon  the  territory  which  had  not  already  super- 
vened by  virtue  of  climatic  law.  Nature's  own  decree,  the 
ordinance  of  1787,  and  the  Missouri  line.  The  only  effect  of  a 
permitted  debate  upon  the  introduction  of  that  "proviso" 
into  the  Minnesota  bill  would  have  been  the  wreck  of  the  bill 
itself  amid  the  surges  of  a  violent  discussion  which  the  power 
to  carry  the  "previous  question"  alone  prevented;  —  a  power 
gained  only  by  "masterly  inactivity"  in  reference  to  the 
party  politics  then  raging.  And  the  judgment  and  real  states- 
manship of  Mr.  Sibley  were,  afterward,  abundantly  confirmed 
by  the  words  of  one  whose  superior  the  American  nation  has 
never  known.  It  was  Webster  who  said,  in  his  great  speech 
of  March  7,  1850,  upon  the  "Compromise  Bill"  before  Con- 
gress, and  in  reference  to  New  Mexico,  "New  Mexico  is  fixed 
for  freedom,  to  as  many  persons  as  shall  live  there,  by  a  law 
more  irrepealable  than  that  which  attaches  to  the  right  of 
holding  slaves  in  Texas.  I  will  go  further.  I  will  say  that, 
if  a  resolution  or  a  law  were  now  before  us  to  provide  a  terri- 
torial government  for  New  Mexico,  I  would  not  vote  to  put 
any  prohibition  into  it  whatever.  The  use  of  such  a  proMhi- 
Uon  ivould  be  idle  as  it  respects  any  effect  it  loould  have  upon  the 
territoi-y;  and  I  would  not  take  the  pains  to  reaffirm  an  ordi- 
nance of  nature,  or  to  re-enact  the  will  of  God.  And  I  would 
put  in  no  Wilmot  proviso.'^  ^  On  grounds  additional  to  that  of 
"climate,"  or  "law  of  nature,"  viz.:  on  the  ground  of  the 
"Missouri  Compromise  of  1820"  excluding  slavery  north  of 
the  line  of  thirty-six  degrees  thirty  minutes,  and  on  the  ground 
of  the  "Great  Ordinance  of  1787"  consecrating  the  whole 
Northwest  Territory  to  freedom,  forever,  Mr.  Sibley  resisted 
the  device  of  the  Free  Soilers  in  Congress,  either  to  prevent 
the  organization  of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  or  compel  the 
insertion  of  the  proviso.  Minnesota,  crowned  with  snowy 
'plum(!S,  and  guarded  by  two  irrepealable  federal  ordinances, 
did  not  need  the  "saving  grace"  of  an  instrument  which  even 
the  great  Webster,  who  perfectly  approved  its  doctrine,  did 
not  hesitate  to  call   "a  piece  of  legislation  not  only  entirely 


1  Congressional  (Jlohi',  Tliirtietb  (,'ongri'ss,  Second  Session,  ii.  581. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  125 

useless,  but  entirehi  senseless.^'  The  impartial  judgment  of  all 
Minnesotians  will  commend,  while  the  state  endures,  the  wis- 
dom of  Mr.  Sibley's  course  in  this  whole  matter. 

The  twenty-second  of  February  was  a  field-day  for  Minne- 
sota in  the  house  of  representatives,  and  the  beginning  of  the 
end  of  the  long  and  weary  struggle  of  Mr.  Sibley  in  behalf  of 
his  constituents,  and  their  dearest  wish.  The  time  had  come 
for  the  final  test  of  mettle,  and  down  to  the  closing  day  of  the 
session  it  was  one  continuous  battle  in  the  house  and  out  of  it, 
earnest,  intense,  and  resolute  on  both  sides,  as  was  ever  fought 
on  any  question.  It  was,  however, — save  one  temporary 
check, —  a  succession  of  victories  for  the  "delegate  from  Wis- 
consin." The  fortune  that  perched  beside  his  eagle-plume 
when  he  entered  the  house  to  claim  his  seat  did  not  forsake 
him  now  that  he  had  honored  and  adorned  it.  "Mr.  Sibley 
moved  that  the  rules  of  the  house  be  suspended,  to  enable  him 
to  submit  a  motion  that  the  committee  of  the  whole  upon  the 
state  of  the  Union  be  discharged  from  the  consideration  of 
the  bill  from  the  senate  to  establish  the  territorial  govern- 
ment of  Minnesota,  so  as  to  bring  the  bill  directly  before  the 
house,  and  put  it  on  its  final  passage."^  That  was  the  bugle- 
note  for  the  last  conflict.  The  members  were  scattered  about 
the  house,  no  quorum  present,  and  a  call  of  the  house  being 
made,  one  hundred  and  forty-five  now  answering  to  their 
names,  the  vote  was  taken,  and  the  "rules  were  suspended, 
yeas  100  to  nays  16,  and  the  committee  of  the  whole  were 
discharged  from  further  consideration  of  the  bill."  Mr.  Sib- 
ley then  rose  and  moved  the  ^^ previous  question,^ ^  appealed 
to,  most  earnestly,  by  many  representatives  sitting  near 
him,  to  withdraw  his  motion,  but  which  he  refused  to  do, 
"turning  a  deaf  ear  to  all  their  entreaties  and  incurring  the 
ire  of  all  who  were  inimical  to  the  bill."^  He  responded  that 
"with  all  deference  to  those  gentlemen,"  he  "must insist  on 
the  previous  question."^  Mr.  Eockwell  of  Massachusetts 
inquires  what  has  become  of  the  amendment  he  offered,  and 
what  the  effect  of  the  previous  question  upon  it,  and  is 
answered  by  cries  of  "Order,"  and  calls  for  the  "Question," 
Speaker  Winthrop  ruling  adversely  to  the  gentleman.  Mr. 
Eockwell  appeals  again,  in  vain,  to  Mr.  Sibley,  several  members 


1  Congressional  Globe,  Thirtieth  Congress,  Second  Session,  p.  581. 

2  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  I,  p.  65. 

3  Globe,  Ibid.,  p.  581. 


126  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,    AND   TIMES   OF 

privately  encouraging  Mr.  Sibley  not  to  yield,  Mr,  Cobb  of 
Georgia — once  opposed  but  now  friendly  —  telling  Mr.  Sibley, 
sotto  voce,  that  "to  yield  is  to  insure  the  loss  of  the  bill." 
Already,  on  the  seventeenth,  foreseeing  the  danger  and  the 
struggle,  Mr.  Sibley,  with  great  tact,  caused  a  circular  to  be 
placed  on  the  desk  of  every  member  of  the  house,  asking,  in 
courteous  and  dignified  terms,  their  kind  assistance  in  the 
approaching  contest.  ^  And  it  had  its  effect.  Mr.  Cobb  calls 
Mr.  Rockwell  to  order,  and  the  speaker  sustains  Mr.  Cobb. 
Mr.  Boyden  of  North  Carolina  now  rises  to  a  point  of  order, 
viz.,  that  Mr.  Sibley  has  "no  right  to  move  the  previous 
question,  inasmuch  as  he  is  only  a  delegate  and  not  a  repre- 
sentative." Mr.  Cobb  now  calls  Mr.  Boyden  to  order,  and 
the  speaker  sustains  Mr.  Sibley.  Mr.  Boyden,  excited, 
appeals  to  the  house  from  the  decision  of  the  chair,  where- 
upon the  house  sustains  the  speaker  by  a  unanimous  vote, 
Mr.  Boyden' s  solitary  "No"  sounding  dismal  and  bereaved, 
to  the  infinite  amusement  of  the  house.  Mr.  Smith  of  Indi- 
ana suddenly  feels  in  need  of  information,  and  inquires,  with 
anxious  look,  what  has  become  of  the  bevy  of  amendments 
that  attended  the  last  advent  of  the  bill  into  the  house,  and 
if  the  previous  question  cuts  them  off.  The  speaker  decides 
that  all  amendments  legitimately  introduced  will  be  respected, 
notwithstanding  the  previous  question,  and  all  others  will  be 
shown  the  back  door.  Whereupon  Mr.  Levin  of  Pennsylvania 
rises  to  a  point  of  order,  and  desires  to  be  illuminated  on 
the  question  "whether  the  extension  of  the  right  of  suffrage 
to  aliens  is  not  a  violation  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States."  The  speaker  imparts  the  necessary  light  by  inform- 
ing Mr.  Levin  that  his  "point  of  order"  is  ^'^ not  a  point  of 
order,"  but  a  question  of  construction  and  interpretation,  and 
rules  that  all  further  interruptions  must  cease,  and  the  ques- 
tion be  taken.  The  previous  question  then  began  to  be  taken, 
yeas  81,  at  which  point  Mr.  Rockwell  is  up  again,  before  the 

1  Note. —  The  following  is  tlie  circular: 

HoosE  OF  Representatives, 
Saturday,  February  17,  1849. 
Sir:  It  is  not  probable  that  the  hill  for  the  organization  of  Minnesota  Territory  will  be 
reached  in  the  order  of  Imsiness  before  the  committee  of  the  whole.  As  a  failure  of  this 
bill  would  be  a  most  serious  calamity  to  the  people  of  that  territory,  I  take  the  liberty  to 
apiKjal  to  your  kind  feoling.s,  in  their  behalf,  to  su.stain  mo  in  a  motion  I  shall  make  on  Mon- 
day to  .luspend  the  rules,  that  the  bill  may  be  taken  up  and  jiassed.  It  is  not  probable  that 
any  debate  will  take  place  upon  it.    I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully. 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 
U.  II.  Sibley. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  127 

nays  were  heard,  demanding  tellers  for  the  vote,  whereupon, 
the  tellers  having  been  appointed,  and  calling  the  roll,  the 
vote  stood,  yeas  95  to  nays  71,  and  so  the  previous  question 
was  seconded,  the  speaker  calling  out  at  once,  "Shall  the 
main  question  be  now  put!"  At  this  juncture,  Mr.  Giddiugs 
of  Ohio  (with  the  ''Wilmot  Proviso"  in  his  hand)  rises  to 
inquire  if  the  main  question  is  ordered  "can  Mr.  Rockwell 
(who  had  the  ordinance  of  1787  in  his  head)  offer  his  amend- 
ment," the  speaker  deciding  "^o."  Mr.  Giddings,  how- 
ever, has  yet  another  question  to  propound,  viz.,  if  the  main 
question  is  not  ordered,  "will  the  bill  be  open  to  amend- 
ment," to  which  the  speaker  answered  "  Yes,"  Mr.  Giddings 
then  expressing  the  hope  that  the  previous  question  may 
incur  a  summary  disaster,  and  without  delay.  The  Hon.  Mr. 
Gentry  of  Tennessee  now  inquires,  if  the  main  question  is 
defeated,  "will  the  bill  go  over  till  to-morrow,"  and  the 
speaker  relieves,  affirmatively,  his  solicitude.  Then  the  Hon. 
Daniel  Gott  of  New  York,  unlike  Daniel  of  old,  complains 
that  his  memory  is  weak,  and  importunes  the  house  just  to 
hear  Mr.  Rockwell  read  his  amendment  one  moment,  pro  bono 
publico,  the  speaker  deciding  that  Mr.  Gott's  weak  memory  is 
not  in  order,  and  calling  out,  "Shall  the  main  question  be 
now  put!"  to  which  the  house  responded,  yeas  102,  nays  99, 
a  close  call,  only  three  votes  difference  between  the  sides,  but 
Mr.  Sibley  and  the  bill  still  ahead. 

The  first  business  now,  according"  to  parliamentary  rule, 
being  the  consideration  of  the  legitimately  made  amendments, 
that  is,  those  reported  by  the  Committee  on  Territories,  the 
first  one,  viz. ,  the  one  striking  out  the  words  ' '  on  the  passage 
of  this  act,"  and  substituting  the  words  "on  March  10,  1849," 
as  the  date  when  the  bill,  if  passed,  should  take  effect,  was 
lost,  yeas  97,  nays  101.  Another  victory  for  Mr.  Sibley;  for 
the  senate  never  would  concur  in  an  indirect  insult  to  the  out- 
going president  of  the  United  States,  by  depriving  him  of  his 
right  to  make  appointments  of  territorial  officers  for  Minne- 
sota, March  4,  1849.  The  Hon.  Mr.  Schenck  of  Ohio  then 
moved  that  the  whole  bill  be  laid  upon  the  table,  a  device  not 
infrequent  when  much  business  pressed  the  house  near  the 
close  of  its  term.  The  game  was  unsuccessful,  notwithstand- 
ing the  Hon.  Mr.  Haralsen's  prayer  for  "more  light,"  like  the 
cry  of  Ajax  in  the  gloom  of  battle.  The  motion  being  put, 
the  ordered  yeas  and  nays  fired  back,  yeas  88,  nays  106,  and 


128  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

SO  Schenck's  motion  was  triumphantly  lost.  Amendments 
from  3  to  10  inclusive,  all  harmless  and  appropriate,  are  car- 
ried, nem.  con.,  after  which  11  and  12,  decreeing  $20,000  for  the 
capitol  buildings  and  $5,000  for  a  library,  for  the  use  of  the 
officers  of  the  territory,  are  stricken  out.  ^  Again  a  rally  is 
made,  and,  as  a  thirteenth  amendment,  it  is  proposed  to  insert 
''March  10,  1849,"  as  the  day  when  the  bill,  if  passed,  shall 
take  effect,  whereui^on  the  Hon.  Mr.  Kaufmann  of  Texas  in- 
quires of  the  speaker  if  the  motion  to  insert  March  10,  1849, 
is  not  a  palpable  and  intended  insult  to  the  president  of  the 
United  States.  The  speaker  replies  that  he  is  not  in  possession 
of  any  satisfactory  information  on  the  subject.  The  vote  is 
taken,  and  the  amendment  agreed  to,  yeas  101,  nays  95,  a  ma- 
jority of  six  against  the  bill,  and  insuring  its  absolute  defeat, 
unless  the  house  should  recede  from  the  amendment.  Then,  as 
if  the  fate  of  the  bill  were  decided,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Evans  of 
Maryland  rises  to  a  point  of  order,  viz.,  that  the  "Texas  Dis- 
trict Collection  Bill"  ranks  all  other  business,  and  therefore 
has  precedence,  the  speaker  informing  the  gentleman  that  all 
other  business,  especially  the  Minnesota  bill,  ranks  that.  At 
this  point,  the  general  calendar  is  taken  up,  and  the  house 
ceases  from  its  territorial  labors  till  February  28th,  or  just 
four  days  before  the  close  of  the  session. 

There  are  times  when  even  the  hearts  of  the  bravest  sink 
within  them,  and  the  agony  of  the  spirit  betrays  itself  in  the 
wan  countenance  and  the  downcast  eye.  There  are  times 
when,  after  a  severe  struggle,  and  mental  tension  to  the  utmost, 
a  cause  seems  hopelessly  lost,  and  it  is  impossible  to  renew 
the  effort  in  its  behalf.  But  Mr.  Sibley's  indomitable  pur- 
pose never  left  him,  nor  did  his  courage  fail  him,  nor  was  his 
wisdom  lacking.  By  a  stroke  of  true  generalship,  presaging 
military  honors  upon  another  field,  he  devised  a  plan  whereby, 
putting  himself  in  possession  of  the  power  to  control  a  meas- 
ure then  pending  in  Congress  for  the  organization   of  the 

1  Tlie  rules  of  tlie  house  required  all  apiiropriations  to  be  first  considered  in  committee 
of  the  whole,  and  the  time  was  too  limited  to  allow  the  house  to  resolve  itself  into  such  com- 
mittee. This  untoward  event  was  counteracted  subsequently,  however,  by  taking  up  from 
the  filed  calendar  a  private  bill  entitled,  "A  BUI  for  the  relief  of  Mr.  James  Norris,"  to  which 
the  house  attached  the  words,  "  and  for  other  jmrposes."  Inasmuch  as  the  rule  of  the  house 
did  not  require  appropriations  in  private  bills  to  be  referred  to  a  committee  of  the  whole,  the 
motion  was  made,  and  carried,  to  m/i/  a  section  to  that  bill  providing  for  "  the  v.tiial  ajipro- 
priatiun.i  to  ilifray  tin-  eriieii.ii'x  of  Minni'.sotii  Trrrilorp!"  Thus  tin;  first  money  ever  appropri- 
ated by  Congress  for  the  benefit  of  Minnesota  was  a  hurried  and  amusing  addendum  to  a 
private  bill  for  the  relief  of  some  humble  individual  unknown  to  Minnesota,  even  to  this 
day. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  129 

^'Department  of  the  Interior,"  he  could  either  command  the 
success  of  the  Minnesota  bill,  by  compelling  the  house  to 
recede  from  its  obnoxious  amendment,  or  defeat  a  scheme  dear 
to  the  ambition  of  the  leaders  in  the  house,  and  from  whose 
accomplishment  they  expected  great  pecuniary  emolument 
and  personal  preferment.  The  bill  for  the  organization  of  the 
interior  department  of  the  general  government  had  already 
l^assed  the  house,  and  was  now  in  the  hands  of  the  senate, 
utterly  indifferent  whether  it  should  succeed  or  fail  by  the 
vote  of  that  body.  The  Democratic  senators  were  not  espe- 
cially anxious  to  favor  a  measure  providing  new  offices  for 
their  political  opponents,  or  conferring  new  powers  on  the  in- 
coming administration  of  the  president-elect,  General  Zachary 
Taylor,  adverse  to  their  own  policy.  Eepairing  to  the  sen- 
ate at  once,  where  the  Minnesota  bill  had  gone  as  amended, 
and  where  the  bill  for  the  department  of  the  interior  await- 
ed the  final  action  of  the  senate,  Mr.  Sibley  informed  his 
personal  friends  of  what  had  been  done  in  the  house,  and 
requested  aid  to  help  him  secure  the  success  of  the  bill  organ- 
izing the  Territory  of  Minnesota.  Senator  Douglas,  chair- 
man of  the  senate's  Committee  on  Territories,  summoned  his 
senatorial  friends  together,  and,  after  a  conference  with  Mr. 
Sibley,  authorized  him  to  state  to  the  Whig  leaders  of  the 
house  that  unless  the  house  should  recede  from  its  thirteenth 
amendment  to  the  Minnesota  bill,  and  so  concur  with  the  sen- 
ate adverse  to  that  amendment,  the  bill  for  the  organization 
of  the  interior  department  would  be  ignominiously  defeated. 
On  the  other  hand,  should  the  house  be  pleased  to  concur 
with  the  senate  in  this  respect,  the  senate  would  certainly 
concur  with  the  house  in  reference  to  the  bill  for  the  interior. 
It  was  a  new  and  startling  revelation,  a  flank  movement,  at  a 
late  hour  in  the  day,  the  execution  of  which  was  assured  to 
them  by  testimonies,  and,  most  of  all,  by  the  firm  word  of  Mr. 
Sibley,  whose  personal  asseveration  no  one  dared  to  question. 
In  short,  Mr.  Sibley  now  held  in  his  own  hand  the  power  to 
pass  the  Minnesota  bill  or  defeat  the  organization  of  the 
interior  department  of  the  general  government.  It  was  an 
Archimedean  lev«r,  with  the  upper  house  of  Congress  as  its 
fulcrum,  and  the  lower  house  as  the  obstacle  to  be  turned  upside 
down.  The  calm  consciousness  of  success  and  the  sunshine 
that  beamed  in  the  face  of  the  delegate  from  Wisconsin  as  he 
imparted  the  cheering  intelligence,  produced  the  salutary 

9 


130  ANCESTRY,   LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

effect  of  profound  couvictiou  among  the  magnates  of  the  hall 
of  representatives.  The  twenty-eighth  of  February  came, 
and  found  Mr.  Sibley  in  his  seat,  ready  either  to  win  his  own 
cause  or  inflict  defeat  on  that  of  its  foes.  The  Minnesota  bill 
had  returned  to  the  house,  the  senate  concurring  in  all  the 
house  amendments  to  the  bill,  save  the  thirteenth.  The  main 
question  now  is,  ^'■Slmll  the  house  recedefrom  the  thirteenth  amend- 
mentf^  Mr.  Sibley  rose  and  again  demanded  the  previous 
question.  It  was  seconded,  and  the  main  question  was 
ordered,  the  house  adjourning.  The  final  action  was  taken  on 
the  third  day  of  March,  the  day  the  last  before  the  adjourn- 
ment of  Congress.  Once  more  on  that  day  Mr.  Sibley  is  found 
at  his  post,  rises,  and  again  with  unflinching  purpose  calls  for 
the  previous  question,  which  is  seconded,  and  the  main  ques- 
tion, heard  for  the  last  time  in  the  hall  of  representatives, 
''^ Shall  the  house  recede?^''  is  now  finally  ordered,  carried, 
moved  to  be  reconsidered,  and  that  motion  itself  laid  on  the 
table,  the  house  receding  from  the  thirteenth  amendment,  and  so 
concurring  with  the  senate,  no  voice  opposing ! 

Thus,  after  two  among  the  severest  struggles  in  Congress, 
one  at  the  opening  and  one  at  the  close  of  the  session,  and 
a  hand-to-hand  contest  all  the  way  between,  was  Minnesota, 
organized  as  a  new  territory,  March  3,  1849,  and  put  in  pos- 
session of  a  separate  government  almost  equal  to  that  enjoyed 
by  the  people  of  the  states.  The  relief  experienced  by  Mr. 
Sibley  and  the  faithful  friends  from  Minnesota  who  co-oper- 
ated with  him  may  well  be  imagined.  It  was  a  time  for  jubi- 
lee. And  the  justifiable  good-natured  exultation  of  the  tire- 
less, faithful,  and  victorious  delegate  from  Wisconsin  over  the 
adversaries  of  the  Minnesota  bill  may  be  repeated,  in  his  own 
words,  without  offense  to  his  modesty:  ''I  tell  you,  I  walked, 
that  day,  with  the  highest  head  and  the  lightest  heart  and  the 
freest  step  and  best  face  of  any  man  in  the  crowd,  from  the 
house  of  representatives  over  to  the  capitol!"  And  well  he 
might,  for,  in  the  words  of  one  of  the  most  influential  journals 
of  the  present  day,  reviewiug  the  career  of  Mr.  Sibley,  '■'■It 
is  scarcely  possible  that  any  other  man  in  the  Northwest  could  have 
attained  the  same  result  at  that  time.  By  hi^ finished  manners^ 
excellent  sense,  and  knowledge  of  men,  he  speedily  made  friends, 
and  succeeded  in  accomplishing  what  every  man  regarded  as  an 
impossibility. ' ' ' 

1  riiic-ai^o  Timi's,  January  oO,  1880. 


I 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  131 

Laborious,  however,  as  was  the  task  of  drafting  and  secur- 
ing the  passage  of  the  Minnesota  bill,  still  other  important 
duties  and  services  were  discharged  by  Mr.  Sibley  in  the 
interest  of  his  constituents  during  this  session  of  Congress. 
The  removal  of  the  land  ofi&ce  from  Wisconsin  to  Stillwater 
was  effected,  after  a  strong  resistance  made  to  this  project  by 
the  members  of  the  Wisconsin  legislature  protesting,  through 
Senator  Walker,  against  its  transfer  outside  the  limits  of  the 
state.  This  resistance,  however,  was  at  last  withdrawn,  by 
means  of  the  establishment  of  an  additional  land  office  for  Wis- 
consin within  its  own  boundaries.  A  weekly  mail  service,  by 
steam  packet,  was  also  granted  by  the  postmaster  general,  at 
the  repeated  and  earnest  solicitations  of  Mr.  Sibley,  who 
secured  the  assistance  herein  of  the  representatives  from  Wis- 
consin and  Iowa.  He  furthermore  introduced  a  resolution 
into  the  house,  which  was  adopted,  whereby  the  house  instruc- 
ted the  Committee  on  the  Post  Office  to  establish  a  post  route 
from  Fort  Snelling  to  Fort  Gaines,  and  also  to  instruct  the 
Committee  on  Indian  Affairs  to  extend  the  United  States  laws 
over  the  Northwest  Indian  tribes,  for  the  prevention  of  mur- 
der and  other  crimes  of  which  they  were  habitually  guilty. 
In  addition,  he  drafted  a  bill,  which  was  introduced  into  the 
house  by  the  Hon.  Eobert  Smith,  appropriating  $12,000  for 
the  construction  of  a  road  from  the  St.  Louis  river  of  Lake 
Superior  to  St.  Paul  and  to  Point  Douglas,  via  Marine  Mills 
and  Stillwater,  besides  devoting  his  attention  to  various  indi- 
vidual and  other  claims.  Still  further,  he  presented  to  the 
house  a  memorial,  signed  by  a  large  number  of  Sioux  mixed - 
bloods  who  had  lost  a  part,  or  else  all,  of  the  amount  allowed 
them  under  the  treaty  of  1837,  asking  the  same  to  be  refunded. 
In  company  with  this  he  also  presented  another  memorial, 
viz.,  that  of  the  suiferers  who,  by  act  of  military  violence  at 
Fort  Snelling,  had  been  driven  from  their  homes  on  the  mili- 
tary reserve.  Both  these  claims  for  compensation  and  redress 
he  asserted  to  be  just,  securing  their  reference  to  the  proper 
committees  for  examination.  For  want  of  time  to  push  these 
measures  through  Congress,  during  the  present  session,  final 
action  was  necessarily  postponed  to  a  future  day.  In  the 
interest  of  the  Sioux  mixed-bloods  who  desired  to  dispose  of 
their  lands  at  Lake  Pepin,  he  waited  uj^on  the  secretary  of  war 
and  commissioner  of  Indian  affairs  a  number  of  times,  to  pro- 
cure, if  possible,  their  co-operation  and  concurrence  herein, 


132  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

but  was  unsuccessful  on  the  ground  that  a  new  administration 
was  about  to  assume  power,  and  certain  legal  formalities  were 
wanting,  for  the  rectification  of  which  no  time  permitted.  In 
conclusion,  Mr.  Sibley  labored  to  procure  the  addition  of  an 
item  to  the  general  appropriation  bill  to  defray  the  expenses 
of  the  treaty  with  the  mixed-blood  owners  of  the  Lake  Pepin 
tract  of  land,  and  also  for  negotiating  a  treaty  with  the  Sioux 
Indians,  as  also  to  meet  expenses  of  the  treaty  of  pacification 
between  the  Sioux,  Chippewas,  and  Winnebagoes.  The  gen- 
eral appropriation  bill,  however,  was  too  far  advanced  to 
allow  the  insertion  of  the  application,  which  failed  for  want  of 
time  to  consider  the  items. 

Such  was  the  work  of  the  delegate  from  the  residuum  of 
Wisconsin  Territory.  It  would  be  difiicult  to  find  in  the 
history  of  delegates  anywhere  more  steadfast  devotion,  or 
more  upright,  self-denying,  assiduous  toil  in  behalf  of  any 
constituency,  or  truer  sympathy  with  fellow  men  whom  he 
deemed  to  be  wronged,  savage  and  semi-savage  as  they  were. 
Exhausted  by  his  labors,  and  the  second  session  of  the 
Thirtieth  Congress  closed,  it  remained  for  him  to  return  to 
the  bosom  of  his  friends  in  the  far  Northwest  and  give  an 
account  of  what  he  had  accomplished,  and  what  he  had  at- 
tempted. 

Nearly  three  years  had  elapsed  from  the  first  movement  to 
organize  the  Territory  of  Minnesota  to  the  auspicious  day 
when,  by  the  fidelity,  skill,  and  personal  presence  of  Mr.  Sib- 
ley, aided  by  devoted  friends,  not  only  in  Congress  but  from 
Minnesota,  it  was  triumphantly  effected.  The  joy  at  the 
reception  of  the  news  in  Minnesota,  that  at  length  its  terri- 
torial organization  was  a  living  fact,  may  indeed  be  imagined 
without  fear  of  exaggeration.  The  Eev.  Dr.  E.  D.  Neill,  writ- 
ing from  personal  knowledge,  says,  in  his  "History  of  Min- 
nesota," when  adverting  to  this  event,  "More  than  a  month 
after  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  just  at  eve,  on  the  ninth 
of  April,  amid  terrific  peals  of  thunder  and  torrents  of  rain, 
the  wceldy  steam  ])ackct,  the  first  to  force  its  way  through  the 
icy  barrier  of  Lake  Pepin,  rounded  the  rocky  point,  whistling 
loiul  and  long,  as  if  the  bearer  of  glad  tidings.  Before  she  was 
safely  moored  to  the  landing,  the  shouts  of  the  excited  villa- 
gers announced  that  there  was  a  Territory  of  Minnesota  and  that 
HI.  Paul  was  the  seat  of  government!  Every  successive  steam- 
boat arrival  poured  out  on  the  landing  men  big  with  hope, 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  133 

and  anxious  to  do  something  to  mould  the  future  of  the  new 
state."  ^  Nine  days  later,  April  28th,  the  first  printing  press 
entered  the  territory  under  the  care  and  conduct  of  James  M. 
Goodhue,  a  lawyer  by  profession,  and  a  graduate  of  Amherst 
College,  the  ^^ pioneer  press^^  of  the  state,  whose  witty  editor 
conceived  that  the  title,  ^^The  Epistle  of  St.  Paul,^^  would  not 
be  a  bad  name  for  the  new  sheet.  A  month  later.  May  27th, 
the  Hon.  Alexander  Eamsey.  governor  of  the  territory, — ap- 
pointed by  President  Zachary  Taylor,  March  19, 1849,  Presi- 
dent Polk  having  with  rare  magnanimity  declined  to  nominate 
any  of  the  territorial  officers, —  arrived  at  St.  Paul,  and  in 
default  of  accommodation  at  the  crowded  public  houses, 
became,  with  his  family,  the  guest  of  Mr.  Sibley  until  June 
26th.  June  1,  1849,  the  governor  formally  issued  his  procla- 
mation of  the  organization  of  the  territory,  requiring  obedi- 
ence to  its  laws,  and  ten  days  later  a  second  proclamation 
dividing  the  territory  into  three  judicial  districts,  over  which 
presided  the  newly  appointed  judges,  to-wit.  Chief  Justice 
Aaron  Goodrich  and  Associate  Judges  David  Cooper  and 
Bradley  B.  Meeker;  the  county  of  St.  Croix  being  the  First 
Judicial  district,  Stillwater  the  county  seat;  the  Second  dis- 
trict having  its  county  seat  at  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony;  the 
Third  at  Mendota;  fifteen  lawyers  in  the  territory,  and  within  a 
year,  one  hundred  cases  on  the  docket!'^  In  what  manner  the 
following  Fourth  of  July  was  celebrated  by  the  new-born 
citizens  of  our  glorious  country,  may  well  be  conceived.  One 
of  the  noble  pioneers  of  that  hour,  deeply  impressed  with  the 
solemnity  of  the  occasion,  and  unfamiliar,  perhaps,  with  any 
other  civilization  than  what  the  early  Western  wilds  had 
shown,  was  completely  carried  away  by  the  reading  of  the 
^'Declaration  of  Independence,"  and,  as  the  crowd  dispersed, 
declared  that,  not  intending  offense  to  any  of  the  other  speak- 
ers, he  regarded  it  as  the  "ablest  effort "  that  had  been  made 
upon  that  memorable  occasion!  Characteristic  of  Mr.  Sibley, 
was  his  choice  of  the  Earl  of  Duuraven's  motto,  viz.,  ^^Quoe 
su7-sum  volo  vldere,^^  "I  would  see  what  is  above,"  as  the 
motto  for  the  territorial  seal.  Through  a  blunder  of  the  en- 
graver, which  rendered  the  motto  unintelligible  (Quo  sursum 
velo  videre)  it  was  laid  aside  for  the  less  impressive,  though 
beautiful,  one,  ' '  L' Etoile  du  Nord, "  "  The  Star  of  the  North, ' ' — 

1  Neill's  Hist,  of  Minnesota,  p.  494. 

2  Paper  by  Justice  Goodrich,  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  I,  p.  80. 


134  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

"the  XorthStar"  being,  however,  already  emblazoned  on  the 
escutcheon  of  the  State  of  Maine.  The  historian  of  Minnesota 
expresses  the  hope  that  ' '  some  future  legislature  may  direct 
the  first  motto  to  be  restored,  and  correctly  engraved."^ 

With  just  pride  could  Mr.  Sibley,  upon  his  return  to  the 
territory  which  his  own  skill  had  done  so  much  to  organize, 
meet  his  old  friends,  and  in  public  assembly,  convened  to 
greet  him,  rehearse  the  labors  of  the  past  winter  in  their  be- 
half, and  recite  the  work  that  was  done.  Wisconsin  Territory 
was  now  no  more,  and  its  delegate,  as  such,  had  passed  out  of  exist- 
ence. But  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  still  lived,  and  could  per- 
sonally give  an  account  of  his  stewardship.  In  an  ^^ Address 
of  Henry  R.  Sibley  of  Minnesota,  to  the  People  of  Minnesota  Ter- 
ritory,'''' he  renews  the  history  of  the  whole  struggle  in  their 
behalf,  explains  the  character  of  his  own  acts,  gives  the  rea- 
sons for  his  own  conduct,  narrates  the  mortifications  and  vexa- 
tious delays  to  which  he  was  subjected  while  claiming  his 
seat,  unfolds  various  devices  whereby  the  bill  for  the  organi- 
zation of  the  territory  was  sought  to  be  wrecked,  announces 
the  final  victory,  and  honors  the  names  of  the  men  who  stood 
so  nobly  by  him  in  Congress.  Eminent  among  these  were  the 
Hon.  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  the  Hon.  Abraham  Lincoln,  the 
gifted  speaker  of  the  house,  Hon.  Eobert  C.  Winthrop  of 
Massachusetts,  but  for  whose  rulings  the  bill  had  perished 
under  the  blows  of  an  angry  contention,  the  Hons.  Messrs. 
Dodge  of  "Wisconsin,  father  and  son,  and  others  equally  gen- 
erous in  their  support,  both  in  the  senate  and  house  of  rep- 
resentatives. With  rare  sagacity  and  wise  emphasis,  Mr. 
Sibley  pressed  upon  his  constituents  the  importance  of  avoid- 
ing everything  like  "party  politics"  in  the  inception  now  of 
their. territorial  career,  assuring  them  that  had  he  played  the 
role  of  a  partisan  in  Congress  their  great  ambition  had  for- 
ever been  frustrated.  A  Democrat  himself,  of  the  old-fash- 
ioned type,  and  of  which  the  country  might  well  be  proud, 
and  working  for  a  territory  which  his  wisdom  well  knew  would 
ere  long  become  a  state,  and  under  the  tendencies  and  pressure 
of  the  times,  Republican,  in  all  probability,  he  yet  deemed  it 
his  duty  to  tlirow  from  his  mind  and  eject  from  his  policy 
everything  that  might  endanger  the  success  of  his  great  enter- 
prise. "Jfy  rwZe,"  said  he,  "was  to  keep  my  ears  open  and  my 
mouth  shut,  whenever  questions  tcere  discussed  of  a  party  character. ^^ 

1  Neill,  Ibid.,  p.  •'516. 


I 


HON.  HENEY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  135 

And  this  he  persisted  in  doing,  even  under  the  greatest 
temptation  and  provocation  to  act  otherwise,  and  while  suf- 
fering from  the  most  malignant  and  envenomed  personal  at- 
tacks of  mere  politicians  with  whom  he  never  was  a  favorite. 
Grandly  did  he  close  his  ^'Address  to  the  People,^ ^  carrying 
even  into  its  dying  cadences  the  tones  of  high  dignity  and 
lofty  moral  bearing  that  belong  only  to  the  noble  mind,  the 
impressive  speaker,  and  the  true  patriot: 

"Minnesota,"  said  he,  "now  occupies  no  unenviable  position.  The 
government  granted  us  secures  us  all  in  the  full  possession  of  privileges 
almost,  if  not  wholly,  equal  to  those  enjoyed  by  the  people  of  the  states. 
With  a  legislative  council  elected  from  among  our  own  citizens,  our  own 
judicial  tribunals*  a  large  appropriation  for  the  construction  of  public 
buildings,  and  for  a  public  library,  with  ample  provision  also  for  defraying 
the  expenses  of  the  territorial  government,  and  with  the  right  of  represen- 
tation in  Congress,  surely  we  can  have  no  cause  of  complaint,  so  far  as  our 
political  situation  is  concerned.  It  is  for  ourselves,  by  a  wise,  careful,  and 
practical  legislation,  and  by  improving  the  advantages  we  now  possess  to 
keep  inviolate  the  public  faith,  and  hasten  the  time  when  the  star  of  Minne- 
sota, which  now  but  twinkles  in  the  political  firmament,  shall  shine  bril- 
liantly in  the  constellation  of  our  confederated  states.  Fellow  citizens,  my 
task  is  finished,  and  while  you  have  my  heartfelt  thanks  for  the  honor 
bestowed  upon  me  in  electing  me  your  delegate,  I  now  give  back  the  trust, 
with  a  full  consciousness  that  I  have  allowed  no  selfish  feeling  to  interfere  with  my 
public  duties,  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  I  have  labored  constantly,  zealously, 
faithfully,  with  the  poor  talents  God  has  bestowed  upon  me,  in  advancing 
all  the  great  and  i  mportant  interests  of  our  common  country. ' '  ^ 

Such  the  calm  victory  and  proud  triumph  permitted  to 
the  "delegate  from  "Wisconsin."  With  what  anxiety  had  he 
started  for  Washington!  With  what  gladness  did  he  return  to 
his  home!  Nor  will  true-hearted  Minnesotians  in  generations 
to  come  forget  to  erect  a  monument  of  gratitude  in  honor  of 
the  man  —  the  one  man  —  who,  alone  of  all  men,  in  that  impor- 
tant hour,  could  have  achieved  for  them,  and  with  them  for 
himself,  a  success  so  brilliant  and  effective,  against  odds  so 
many  and  so  great,  and  obstacles  in  politics  and  the  temper  of 
the  times  wellnigh  invincible. 

1  Address,  etc.,  etc.,  pp.  4,  5. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  thirty- fiest  congress,  first  session,  1849-50. — mr.  sibley  unani- 
mously RETURNED  TO  CONGRESS  BY  THE  VOICE  OF  THE  PEOPLE. — 
FIRST  DELEGATE  FROM  THE  TERRITORY  OF  MINNESOTA.  —  FREE  FROM 
PARTY  TRAMMELS. — A  DEMOCRAT  IN  HIS  PRINCIPLES.  —  HIS  DEEP 
INTEREST  IN  THE  AFFAIRS  OF  THE  TERRITORY.  —  FIRST  FOREMAN  OF 
THE  FIRST  GRAND  JURY  IN  MINNESOTA.  —  HIS  SECOND  APPEARANCE 
IN  WASHINGTON. —  INTENSE  SLAVERY  AGITATION. —  COMPOSITION  OF 
THE  THIRTY-FIRST  CONGRESS. —  STRUGGLE  TO  ELECT  A  SPEAKER  OF 
THE  HOUSE. —  ROLL  CALLED  SIXTY-THREE  TIMES.  —  DIFFICULT  TASK 
OF  MR.  SIBLEY.  —  THE  WANTS  OF  MINNESOTA.  —  REMARKABLE  AMOUNT 
OF  PRAYING.  —  MEMORIAL  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE  ASKING  APPROPRI- 
ATIONS FOR  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS,  PRESENTED  TO  CONGRESS  BY  MR. 
SIBLEY.  —  PRIVATE  AND  PUBLIC  INTERESTS. —  BILLS  FOR  ROADS,  POST 
ROADS,  ELECTIVE  JUDICIARY,  PUNISHMENT  OF  CRIMES,  EXTENSION 
OF  LAWS  OVER  THE  INDIANS,  INCREASE  OF  MILITARY  FORCE,  PRO- 
TECTION OF  THE  SETTLERS,  OPPOSED  BY  MR.  ROOT  OF  OHIO. —  BILL  FOR 
SURVEY  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. — BILL  TO  PROLONG  THE  LEGISLATIVE  SES- 
SION.— THE  SCHOOL  LANDS.  —  MORE  APPROPRIATIONS.  —  PUBLIC  BUILD- 
INGS, CAPITOL,  PENITENTIARY.  —  MR.  SIBLEY  ON  THE  FLOOR  OF  THE 
HOUSE. —  THE  UTAH  AND  NEW  MEXICO  QUESTIONS. —  DEFENSE  OF  THE 
RIGHTS  OF  DELEGATES. — THE  GOVERNMENT'S  INDIAN  POLICY. — SYNOP- 
SIS OF  HIS  ARGUMENT  AS  TO  UTAH  AND  NEW  MEXICO. — ALSO  AS  TO 
THE  RIGHTS  OF  DELEGATES  ON  THE  FLOOR  OF  THE  HOUSE.  —  THE  RED 
man's  FRIEND  IN  CONGRESS. — THE  AMENDMENT  TO  THE  SEVENTH  CEN- 
SUS BILL  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  INDIAN. —  GREAT  SPEECH  OF  MR.  SIBLEY 
FOB  THE  INDIAN. —  CIVILIZATION  OR  EXTERMINATION. —  NEMESIS 
FOREBODED. —  ELOQUENT  ARRAIGNMENT  OP  THE  GOVERNMENT. — THE 
TRUE  POLICY  AND  REMEDY.  —  THRILLING  PERORATION.  —  THE  MINNE- 
SOTA MASSACRE  PREDICTED.  —  WIPES  HIS  HANDS  OF  ALL  RESPONSI- 
BILITY.—  HON.  MR.  MASON'S  REPLY.  —  MR.  SIBLEY'S  KEEN  RETORT. — 
TRIBUTE   TO  THE   INDIAN. 

The  THIRTY-FIRST  CONGRESS,  SECOND  SESSION,  1851.  —  MR.  SIBLEY'S 
FRIENDS  IN  THE  SENATE. —  BILL  TO  PROMOTE  INDIAN  CIVILIZATION. — 
LEASE  OF  THE  SCHOOL  LANDS  FOR  ENDOWMENT  OF  MINNESOTA  UNI- 
VERSITY, AND  FOR  MAGNETIC  TELEGRAPH.  —  REDUCTION  OF  FORT 
8NELLING  RESERVATION. —  BRIDGE  ACROSS  THE  MISSISSIPPI. —  SECUR- 
ING THK  RIGHTS  OF  SETTLERS. — APPROPRIATIONS  TO  REMOVE  OBSTRUC- 
TIONS TO  NAVIGATION  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  —  DEBATE  AS  TO  THE 
REI)i;CTION  OK  THE  FORT  SNELLING  RESERVATION.  —  GROUNDS  OF  RE- 
SI.STANCE  TO  THE  BILL. — MR.  SIBLEY'S  REPLY. — WARM  DEBATE  ON 
THE  QUESTION  OF  GIVING  THE  SCHOOL  LANDS  IN  CHARGE  TO  THE 
LEGISLATURE. —  THE  OBJECTIONS  OF  MEMBERS  OF  THE  HOUSE.  —  BUR- 
DEN OF  REPLY.  —  MR.  SIBLEY  EQUAL  TO  THE  OCCASION. —  PARLIA- 
5IENTARY   PASS  BETWEEN     MR.    SIBLEY    AND   THADDEUS    STEVENS    OF 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  137 

PENNSYLVANIA.  —  THE  "HIGHER  LAW."  —  PASS  BETWEEN  ME.  WP:NT- 
WOETH  AND  ME.  SIBLEY. — SQUATTEES. —  PEE-EMPTION  OF  UNSUEVEYED 
LANDS. —  ME.  SIBLEY'S  "HIGHEE  LAW." — CONGEESS  DENIES  PEK- 
EMPTION  OF  UNSUEVEYED  LANDS. —  BILL  MODIFIED  AND  PASSED. — 
THE  LAW  OF  NECESSITY  AND  NATURE  SUPEEIOE  TO  POSITIVE  STATUTE. 
—  EIGHTS  OF  THE  PIONEEES  VINDICATED.  —  JOSHUA  E.  GIDDINGS. — 
COMMON  SENSE  OF  MANKIND  AN  IMPERIAL  LAW.  —  SQUATTEE  SOVEE- 
EIGNTY,  FEEE  SOILEES,  AND  SECESSIONISTS. —  PAETY  PEEJUDICE. — 
EESULT  OF  THE  DEBATE. — ME.  SIBLEY  ON  THE  INDIAN  APPEOPEIATION 
BILL.— INSISTS  ON  EEOEGANIZING  THE  INDIAN  DEPAETMENT.  — AN- 
OTHER SPEECH   PEOMISED   ON  THE  INDIAN   BILL. 

The  territorial  government  of  Minnesota  went  into  opera- 
tion, as  we  have  seen,  pursuant  to  two  successive  proclama- 
tions by  Governor  Eamsey,  dated  June  1,  and  June  11,  1849, 
the  first  proclaiming  the  government  and  requiring  obedience 
to  its  laws,  the  second  dividing  the  territory  into  three  judicial 
districts.  In  accordance  with  a  requirement  of  the  organic 
act,  a  census  of  the  population  was  taken,  showing,  as  the 
result,  a  total  of  about  five  thousand  inhabitants.  Agreeably 
to  previous  determinations,  the  first  day  of  August  was  chosen 
as  the  time  for  the  election  of  a  delegate  from  the  Territory  of 
Minnesota  to  Congress.  Upon  his  return  from  the  Congress  of 
1848-1849,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Sibley  had  freely  expressed  his  mind, 
in  an  address  to  his  constituents,  in  reference  to  their  future 
action,  and  his  own,  concerning  this  important  matter: 

"I  do  not,"  said  he,  "assume  to  direct  your  views  on  this  subject,  nor 
dictate  what  course  you  should  pursue.  I  only  state  my  own  opinions, 
based  upon  my  observation  and  experience.  You  will  soon  be  called  upon 
to  choose  a  delegate  to  represent  the  interests  of  Minnesota  Territory  in  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States.  Whether  or  not  I  shall  be  a  candidate  depends 
upon  the  value  that  will  be  attached  to  my  labors  hitherto,  and  on  certain 
other  contingencies.  It  is  for  the  people  to  decide,  in  their  primary  assem- 
blies, whether  they  will  maintain  the  position  they  have  hitherto  assumed, 
or  whether  they  will  divide  on  the  point  of  national  politics.  In  either  case, 
it  will  be  for  me  to  acquiesce  in  the  determination.  But,  until  party  lines 
are  drawn,  I  shall  continue  to  occupy  the  same  neutral  ground  I  have  here- 
tofore contended  for,  until  your  fiat  has  gone  forth  that  it  must  be  aban- 
doned, and  that  your  public  men  must  be  tried  by  a  party  test;  when,  should 
I  conclude  to  allow  my  name  to  appear  before  you  in  connection  with  the 
high  station  of  delegate,  I  shall  make  a  declaration  of  my  political  senti- 
ments. Whoever  may  be  selected  to  fill  that  office  will  find  himself  very 
differently  situated  from  the  delegate  who  represented  the  then  unrecognized 
Territory  of  Wisconsin.  He  will  have  no  struggle  for  admission  to  the  house 
of  representatives,  nor  be  told  that  he  owes  his  seat  only  to  the  courtesy  of 
that  body.  "1 

1  Address  to  the  People  of  Minnesota,  p.  5. 


138  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

These  wise,  frank,  and  noble  words,  from  one  whose  opin- 
ions on  all  points  of  national  policy  were  distinctly  defined 
and  well  understood,  were  received  with  the  consideration  to 
which  they  were  entitled.  Unconcealed  and  honest  expres- 
sion of  opinion  always  begets  confidence  even  where  the  judg- 
ment of  the  hearer  stands  adverse  to  that  of  the  speaker,  while 
successful  and  eminent  service,  in  face  of  difiSculties  almost 
insuperable,  always  inspires  gratitude  and  commands  reward. 
In  the  nature  of  the  case  and  the  fitness  of  things,  who  else 
should  be  the  first  delegate  from  the  new  Territory  of  Minne- 
sota than  Henry  Hastings  Sibley,  the  "delegate  from  Wiscon- 
sin?" It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  to  find  that,  in  deference 
to  the  wisdom  of  Mr.  Sibley,  no  political  party  was  formed  in 
the  territory  prior  to  his  second  election  to  Congress,  and  no 
partisan  distractions  marred  the  peace  or  broke  the  harmony 
of  a  loyal  and  grateful  constituency.  Nor  is  it  surprising  that 
—  no  other  candidate  being  allowed  to  enter  the  field  and  com- 
pete for  honors  due  only  to^himself — he  should  be  chosen,  as  if 
by  acclamation,  receiving,  without  opposition,  the  votes  of  all  the 
electors  in  the  territory.  On  the  first  day  of  August,  1849,  Mr. 
Sibley  was  thus  sent,  a  second  time,  to  the  national  legislature; 
a  second  time  intrusted  with  the  great  interests  of  Minnesota. 
Nor  till  after  the  first  session  of  the  first  legislature  of  the  ter- 
ritory had  been  convened, 'November  1, 1849,  and  nearly  three 
months  subsequent  to  Mr.  Sibley's  re-election,  did  any  organ- 
ized political  party  exist  in  Minnesota,  nor  among  the  names  of 
those  who  participated  in  the  organization  does  the  name  of 
Mr.  Sibley  appear.^  Between  August  1,  1849,  and  December 
4,  1849,  the  day  of  the  meeting  of  Congress,  were  four  months, 
three  of  which  were  employed  by  the  delegate  in  matters  of 
public  interest  to  the  territory.  Chief  among  these  were  (1) 
Mr.  Sibley's  personal  influence  and  efforts  to  suppress,  in  con- 
nection with  the  United  States  Indian  Agent,  R.  G.  Murphy,  the 
infamous  traffic  in  ^'Minjiewakan,^^  or  "fire-water,"  to  the  use 
of  which  already  many  of  the  Dakotas  had  become  addicted; 
(2)  the  propagation  of  a  proper  sentiment  in  reference  to  the 
public  expenditui-e  of  the  money  voted  by  Congress  for  the 
territory;  (3)  the  formation  and  incorporation  of  the  Histori- 
cal Society  of  Minnesota;  and  (4)  personal  service  in  assisting 
th(!  administration  of  Justice  in  the  territory.  It  is  among  the 
many  "///•«/  ////////.s"  that  cluster  about  Mr.  Sibley's  pioneer 

1  Neill's  History  of  MiiitK'.sota,  p.  518. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  139 

history,  that  he  was  the  first  foreman  of  the  first  grand  jury- 
ever  impaneled  in  Minnesota,  Judge  Cooper  presiding  over 
the  first  territorial  court  held  at  Mendota,  Governor  Eamsey 
seated  on  the  right,  Chief  Justice  Goodrich  on  the  left,  but 
three  of  the  jury  understanding  the  English  tongue,  the  rest 
French,  and  requiring  the  interpretation  of  the  judge's  charge. 
Time's  rapid  wheel  soon  brought  the  fourth  of  December, 
1849,  and  the  necessity  of  Mr.  Sibley's  appearance  in  Wash- 
ington. If  wisdom  had  been  required  on  the  part  of  the 
'' delegate  from  Wisconsin  Territory,''''  in  order  to  a  successful 
struggle  for  his  seat,  and  triumph  of  the  rights  of  his  constit- 
uents, in  the  previous  Congress,  much  more  was  it  now 
required  for  the  "delegate  from  Minnesota  Territory.''  The 
whole  country  was  convulsed,  as  never  before,  by  the  agita- 
tion of  the  great  domestic  question,  the  question  of  slavery. 
Discussion,  crimination  and  recrimination,  personal  acerbity, 
threats  of  secession  and  dissolution  of  the  Union,  and  coun- 
ter threats  of  retaliation,  abounded  everywhere.  Great  men 
were  in  the  senate;  a  Webster,  Dickinson,  and  Chase;  a  Sew- 
ard, Mason,  and  Calhoun;  a  Corwin,  Clay,  and  Cass;  a  Jeffer- 
son Davis,  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  and  Thomas  Benton;  and,  in 
the  house,  a  Winthrop,  Hale,  and  Mann;  a  Wilson,  Wilmot, 
and  Wentworth;  a  Stephens,  Cobb,  and  Toombs;  a  Giddings, 
Kaufmaun,  and  Thompson;  all  surcharged  with  the  electricity 
due  to  the  friction  of  the  hour.  The  great  conflict,  whose 
solution  could  only  be  by  blood,  twelve  to  sixteen  years  later, 
developed  itself  in  the  contest  for  the  speaker  of  the  house. 
Three  political  parties  appeared  in  Congress.  Eespectively, 
their  strength  stood,  in  the  senate.  Democrats  34,  Whigs  24, 
Free  Soil  2,  viz..  Hale  and  Chase;  and,  in  the  house,  Demo- 
crats 113,  Whigs  105,  Free  Soil  13,  among  whom  were  Giddings 
and  Wilmot,  Julian  and  Preston  King,  Thaddeus  Stevens,  and 
Sprague.  In  the  senate,  the  Democratic  majority  was  eight 
over  the  other  two  combined;  in  the  house,  the  other  two 
combined  stood  five  majority  over  the  Democrats.  On  joint 
ballot,  the  Democratic  majority  was  three,  with  a  threatened 
decrease  from  the  Northern  ranks.  Such  the  situation,  at  the 
opening  of  the  Thirty-first  Congress,  General  Zachary  Taylor 
being  president  of  the  United  States,  the  Hon.  Millard  Fill- 
more vice  president  and  president  of  the  senate.  On  the  first 
day  of  its  session,  December  4,  1849,  the  senate  chamber  saw 
forty-one  senators  in  their  seats,  at  twelve  o'clock,  meridian. 


140  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

while  in  the  house  two  hundred  and  twenty-three  members 
answered  to  their  names.  At  once  it  was  moved  to  proceed 
to  the  election  of  a  speaker,  the  Hon.  Howell  Cobb  of  Georgia, 
Hon.  Eobert  C.  Winthrop  of  Massachusetts,  and  Hon.  David 
Wilmot  of  Pennsylvania,  being  the  three  prominent  candi- 
dates. For  nineteen  days,  viz.,  from  December  4th  to  Decem- 
ber 23d,  at  an  expense  of  $57,000  to  the  nation,  and  under  a 
parliamentary  strain  unexampled  in  the  annals  of  the  world, 
the  house  of  representatives  struggled,  in  vain,  to  choose  its 
chief  officer.  Sixiy-hco  times  the  long  and  weary,  yet  exciting, 
roll  call  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-three  members  was 
enacted,  amid  scenes  of  acrimonious  debate,  accusations  of 
bargain  and  sale,  secret  correspondence,  exposed  manipula- 
tions, tumult,  cheers,  and  chaos.  All  the  chief  candidates 
withdrew,  only  to  be  voted  for  again.  After  the  thirty-ninth 
roll  call,  Winthrop  withdrew,  followed,  next  day,  by  Cobb  and 
Wilmot.  Letters  poured  in  from  all  parts  of  the  country  and 
every  newspaper  reported  the  proceedings.  After  the  fifty- 
fifth  roll  call,  a  resolution  was  offered  that  'Hhe  clergymen  of 
the  different  denominations,  in  the  city  of  Washington,  be 
invited  to  conduct  the  devotions  of  the  house,  with  sincere 
prayer  to  the  Giver  of  all  good  for  a  speedy  and  satisfactory 
organization  and  a  dispatch  of  the  public  business."^  After 
the  fifty-ninth  roll  call  it  was  moved  that  the  clergy  continue 
their  services  '■^ until  a  regular  speaker  is  elected,"  whereupon 
the  amendment  was  offered  "and  that  the  house  do  fast  dur- 
ing the  same  2)eriodP^  an  amendment  greeted  with  "roars  of 
laughter."  At  last,  on  the  sixty-third  roll  call,  the  Hon. 
Howell  Cobb  was  elected  speaker  by  a  plurality  vote  of  101 
out  of  221,  declared  duly  elected,  and  conducted  to  the  chair 
by  his  chief  rival,  the  Hon.  Eobert  C.  Winthrop,  amid  exul- 
tations of  the  house  on  the  one  side,  and  ominous  expressions 
on  the  other. 

To  such  a  Congress,  especially  to  such  a  house,  arrayed  for 
war,  was  the  Hon.  Mr.  Sibley  accredited,  charged  with  the  care 
of  all  the  interests  of  the  "Territory  of  Minnesota,"  and  ex- 
pected by  his  accomplishments,  ability,  influence,  and  personal 
manner,  to  carry  through  those  measures  on  which  its  welfare 
iind  ])rosperity  depejided; — a  result  tliat  could  only  be  achieved 
by  conciliating  the  co-operation  of  men  the  most  diverse  in 
I)olitics  and  temperament.     To  what  extent,  and  how  success- 

1  CoDgrettBional  Globe,  Vol.  'l\,  Part  1,  \>.  48. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  141 

fully,  this  trust  was  discharged,  subsidizing  help  from  all 
parties,  posterity  has  already  judged.  No  work  more  difficult, 
if  we  regard  the  temper  of  the  times  and  the  various  specula- 
tions as  to  what  the  future  of  Minnesota  might  be,  in  its  politi- 
cal aspect,  was  ever  committed  to  the  hands  of  anyone,  and 
no  praise  more  merited,  for  its  achievement,  was  ever  ac- 
corded to  the  representative  of  any  state  or  territory. 

He  who  thinks  that  the  organization  of  a  territorial  gov- 
ernment is  the  end  of  its  cares,  or  that  the  representative  of  a 
new-born  territory  enjoys  the  office  of  a  sinecure,  has  yet  to 
learn  that  birth  is  only  the  beginning  of  life,  and  election  to 
office  only  the  fastening  of  a  yoke  on  the  neck,  that  binds  to  a 
servitude  severe  enough  to  exhaust  the  amplest  and  the 
strongest  powers  of  men.  As  all  children  enter  the  world, 
crying,  the  like  music  attended  the  arrival  of  the  ' '  Territory 
of  Minnesota."  Perhaps  in  all  its  subsequent  annals  there 
never  was  known  so  great  an  amount  of  ^^ praying, ^^  by  all 
classes  and  conditions  of  men,  white,  Indian,  and  half-breed, 
as  occurred  in  the  years  next  following  the  first  breath  of  its 
infancy.  Memorial  on  memorial,  petition  on  petition,  increas- 
ing and  unintermitted;  $10,000  sought  for  this  object,  $20,000 
for  that,  and  $40,000  for  still  something  else;  a  townshij)  of 
land  here,  100,000  acres  there;  rights  of  way  for  this,  and 
donations  for  that,  was  the  order  of  the  day.  The  governor 
prays,  the  legislature  prays,  the  individual  prays,  sixty-three 
citizens  pray  here,  and  one  hundred  and  eighty-six  citizens 
pray  there;  all  pray  in  concert,  united,  fervent,  importunate, 
for  the  relief  of  their  wants.  The  whole  combined  stream  of 
territorial  supplication  is  poured  into  the  ears  of  Congress, 
through  the  mediatorship  of  the  territorial  delegate,  who, 
faithful  to  his  trust,  adds  to  their  cry  the  merit  of  his  own 
intercession.  The  people  want  post  roads,  military  roads, 
railroads,  and  roads  of  every  kind.  Obstructions  need  to  be 
removed  from  the  Mississippi  and  Minnesota  rivers.  Abridge 
must  crown  the  head  of  the  great  "Father  of  Waters."  The 
frontier  must  be  protected  by  military  force,  and  a  new  mili- 
tary post  established.  The  laws  of  the  United  States  must  be 
extended  over  the  Indian  tribes  for  the  punishment  of  crime 
and  security  of  the  people.  These  are  felt  to  be  necessities, 
and  justly  so.  Treaties  with  the  Indians  must  be  negotiated 
and  Indian  titles  extinguished.  Buildings  for  the  capital, 
a  territorial  prison,  an  insane  asylum,  school,  academy,  uni- 


142  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

versity,  libraries,  and  the  reduction  of  postage  on  papers  and 
periodicals  for  the  formation  of  education  and  knowledge, 
must  be  had.  The  rights  of  the  old  pioneers  must  be  pro- 
tected, and  pre-emption  rights,  if  possible,  extended  to  set- 
tlers on  lands  still  unsurveyed.  The  land  office  must  be  du- 
plicated. Means  must  be  had  for  the  adequate  salaries  of 
territorial  officers,  and  the  support  of  the  territorial  legisla- 
ture. Public  and  private  claims  must  be  adjusted.  The 
school  lands  must  be  made  productive  of  revenue.  Compen- 
sation for  injuries  and  losses  incurred  in  years  gone  by  and 
for  services  rendered  to  the  territory  by  civil  and  military 
force,  must  be  obtained,  the  homestead  must  be  made  sure, 
and  appropriations  from  Congress  secured  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  nearly  every  one  of  these  ends. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  all  these  objects  can  only 
come  before  Congress  by  petition,  memorial,  resolution,  joint 
resolution,  bill,  amendment,  and  motion,  to  refer  to  various 
conflicting  committees,  then  reported  and  discussed,  and  that 
the  drafting  of  bills,  resolutions,  as  also  preparation  for  the 
advocacy  and  defense  of  these  objects,  fall  on  the  head  and 
heart  of  the  delegate  alone,  and  that  he  is  expected,  by  every 
means  in  his  power,  now  working  through  the  house,  and  now 
through  the  senate,  and,  if  baffled  in  one  method,  attempting 
another,  to  be  ever  ready  and  alert,  watching  the  interests  of 
his  constituents,  some  feeble  conception  may  be  gained  hereby 
of  the  burden  of  responsibility  and  care  that  weighed  on  the 
mind  of  the  Hon,  Mr.  Sibley  as  the  representative  of  a  new 
territory  whose  wants  were  numerous  almost  as  its  popula- 
tion, and  whose  expectations  were  boundless  as  their  confi- 
dence in  the  man  to  whom  their  interests  had  been  intrusted. 
And  something  of  the  success  that  attended  the  labors  of  Mr. 
Sibley,  and  of  his  power  to  give  an  impetus  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  territory,  may  be  judged  from  this,  that  Minne- 
sota, organized  with  but  5,000  inhabitants,  was  able,  within 
nine  years,  to  knock  at  the  door  of  Congress  with  nearly 
140,000  inhabitants,  and  a  progress  in  territorial  improve- 
ment rarely  surpassed,  and  demand  admission,  and  be  admit- 
ted, May  11,  1858,  as  one  of  the  confederated  states  of  the 
Union. 

Ah  among  the  first  and  most  pressing  needs  of  a  new  ter- 
ritory, oi)en  to  every  kind  of  population,  competition,  and 
enterprise,  are  facilities  of  communication,  preservation  of 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  143 

the  rights  of  the  old  settlers,  the  education  of  the  young,  the 
punishment  of  crime,  and  defense  against  hostile  attack,  so 
the  first  act  of  Mr.  Sibley,  on  his  return  to  the  Thirty  first 
Congress,  was,  December  31,  1849,  to  present  to  the  house  the 
memorial  of  the  legislative  assembly  of  the  territory  praying 
for  (1)  the  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  river  above  the 
Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  (2)  the  establishment  of  certain  mail 
routes  and  additional  mail  facilities,  (3)  the  construction  of 
certain  roads  in  the  territory,  (4)  an  amendment  to  the  law 
granting  pre-emption  rights,  and  relative  to  section  36  of  the 
school  lands,  and  (5)  for  means  to  erect  a  territorial  prison. 
These  several  petitions  were,  in  the  order  above  named,  re- 
ferred, respectively,  in  the  following  order,  to  the  Committees 
on  Territories,  Post  Offices  and  Post  Eoads,  Eoads  and  Canals, 
Public  Lands,  and  Territories.  January  3,  1850,  swiftly  at 
work,  he  gave  notice  of  his  intention  to  introduce  three  bills, 
(1)  a  bill  for  the  benefit  of  Minnesota  Territory,  (2)  a  bill  for 
extending  the  laws  of  the  United  States  over  the  Indian  tribes 
in  the  territory,  and  (3)  a  bill  for  the  establishment  of  certain 
post  roads  in  the  territory.  Objection  being  made  to  his 
request  for  unanimous  consent  of  the  house  to  allow  him  to 
introduce  the  bills  of  which  notice  had  been  given,  he  improved 
the  time  immediately  following  by  presenting  the  petitions  of 
Elizabeth  Odell  and  Mary  Woodbury  of  the  Sioux  Nation, 
praying  for  the  payment  of  certain  money  due  under  the 
Indian  treaty  of  1837,  claims  he  regarded  as  only  just,  and 
the  payment  of  which  he  successfully  pressed  as  only  right. 

January  18,  1850,  he  presented  to  the  house  a  bill  ''for  ex- 
tending the  right  of  pre-emption  to  settlers  on  unsurveyed 
lands,"  and  on  the  twenty-eighth  instant,  gave  notice  of  a  bill 
"to  provide  for  the  construction  of  certain  roads  in  Minnesota 
Territory."  January  28,  1850,  again  asking  unanimous  con- 
sent of  the  house  to  introduce  a  bill  "  for  the  construction  of 
certain  roads  in  Minnesota  Territory,  and  objection  again 
being  made  from  the  same  quarter  as  before,  Mr.  Sibley,  act- 
ing on  the  Baconian  aphorism  that,  what  cannot  be  accom- 
plished in  one  way  may  be  achieved  in  another,  moved  the 
house,  by  a  resolution,  February  6,  1850,  "That  the  Commit- 
tee on  Post  Offices  and  Post  Roads  be  instructed  to  inquire 
into  the  expediency  of  establishing  a  post  road  from  Point 
Douglas,  via  Cottage  Grove,  Red  Rock,  St.  Paul,  and  the  Falls 
of  St.  Anthony,  to  Fort  Gaines  and  to  Long  Prairie  and  Pern- 


144  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

bina;  and  from  Point  Douglas  via  Stillwater,  Marine  Mills, 
Falls  of  St.  Croix,  and  Pokegama  to  Fond  du  Lac,  all  in  the 
Territory  of  Minnesota;  and  to  report  thereon  by  bill  or  oth- 
erwise." Also,  "That  the  Committee  on  Territories  be  in- 
structed to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  amending  the  acts 
for  the  organization  of  Minnesota  and  Oregon  territories,  so 
as  to  make  the  office  of  judges  therein  created  elective  by  the 
people  of  said  territories;  and  to  report  thereon  by  bill  or 
otherwise."  At  the  same  time,  he  introduced  into  the  house, 
(1)  a  bill  "  for  the  punishment  of  crimes  and  offenses  com- 
mitted by  the  Indians  within  the  limits  of  Minnesota  and 
Oregon  territories,"  and  (2)  a  bill  "for  the  benefit  of  Minne- 
sota Territory,"  the  first  of  these  being  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Indian  Affairs,  the  second  to  the  Committee  on 
Public  Lands,  February  22,  1850.  He  further  moved  the 
house,  by  resolution,  "That  the  Committee  on  Military  Af- 
fairs be  instructed  (1)  to  inquire  into  the  sufficiency  of  the 
military  force  now  stationed  on  the  frontiers  of  Iowa,  Wiscon- 
sin, and  Minnesota  Territory,  for  the  defense  thereof,  and  (2) 
in  case  said  force  is  not  sufficient,  and  there  are  no  means  at 
the  disposal  of  the  department  of  war,  to  instruct  said  com- 
mittee to  report  a  bill  authorizing  the  president  of  the  United 
States  to  call  into  the  service  of  the  United  States  such  volun- 
teers as  may  by  him  be  deemed  necessary  to  preserve  the 
peace  of  the  country."  Opposition  was  again  encountered 
from  the  Hon.  Mr.  Root  of  Ohio,  who  seemed  to  take  pleasure 
in  objecting  to  everything  offered  by  the  delegate  from  Min- 
nesota, whereupon  Mr.  Sibley  moved  a  suspension  of  the  rules 
of  the  house,  in  order  to  secure,  by  vote  of  the  house,  the 
acceptance  of  his  resolution.  The  rules  were  suspended,  by 
a  handsome  majority,  and  the  resolution  for  the  protection  of 
the  frontier  was  then  received  by  the  house  and  adopted. 

A  faithful  friend  to  the  Indian  in  every  distress,  and  yet 
against  whom,  in  later  years,  he  was  compelled  to  draw  the 
sword,  he  obtained  leave  of  the  house,  March  11,  1850,  to 
introduce  a  "joint  resolution  for  the  relief  of  certain  bands 
of  the  Sioux  Nation,"  which  was  received,  read  twice  by  its 
title,  and  by  the  rules  of  the  house,  involving  as  it  did  an 
appropriation  of  money,  was  referred  to  the  committee  of  the 
wliole  on  the  state  of  the  Union,  resulting  in  the  relief  de- 
sired. April  24,  1850,  he  presented  the  "memorial  of  the 
people  of  Minnesota  for  an  approjiriation  for  the  survey  of 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  145 

the  Mississippi  river  above  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  pre- 
paratory to  its  improvement,"  and  secured  its  reference  to 
the  proper  committee.  May  13,  1850,  he  introduced  a  reso- 
lution "that  the  Committee  on  Territories  be  instructed  to 
inquire  into  the  expediency  of  making  provision,  by  law,  for 
granting  the  legislative  assembly  of  Minnesota  Territory  the 
right  to  prolong  its  next  annual  session  to  a  period  of  ninety 
days,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  it  to  perfect  a  code  of  laws 
for  said  territory."  Again  objection  was  made  by  the  honor- 
able member  for  Ohio,  Mr.  Eoot,  and  others,  and  the  house 
refusing  to  suspend  the  rules  in  order  to  receive  the  resolu- 
tion, Mr.  Sibley  renewed  the  resolution  in  the  form  of  a  pe- 
tition. May  16,  1850,  which  was  received  and  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Territories.  On  the  same  day,  Mr.  Sibley 
presented  a  "memorial  of  the  people  of  Minnesota,  pray- 
ing Congress  to  place  the  school  lands  at  the  disposal  of  the 
legislature,  so  far  as  to  allow  said  body  to  rent  them." 

Ever  watchful  of  the  interests  of  his  constituents,  and  of 
the  time  when  the  various  house  committees,  to  whom  the 
memorials,  petitions,  and  resolutions  he  had  offered  were 
referred,  should  report,  Mr.  Sibley,  May  28  and  29,  1850,  was 
in  his  seat  when  the  Hon.  Mr.  Thompson,  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Territories,  called  for  the  order  of  the  day,  viz., 
the  bill  making  further  appropriations  for  public  buildings  in 
Minnesota  and  Oregon  territories,  $20,000  being  assigned  to 
each  of  these  territories  for  the  erection  of  jDenitentiaries,  and 
the  expenditure  of  $20,000  more  for  the  erection  of  temporary 
buildings  at  the  permanent  seat  of  government.  Through 
Mr.  Sibley's  influence,  the  bill  was  temporarily  laid  aside  and 
the  motion  carried  that,  when  reported  again,  it  should  be  with 
the  recommendation  that  it  pass.  What  work  had  been  done 
with  the  committee  may  be  learned  from  the  fact  that  when 
the  bill  to  provide  for  the  construction  of  certain  roads  in 
Minnesota  Territory  was  reported  to  the  house,  the  several 
sums  it  appropriated  were  $15,000  for  the  construction  of  a 
road  from  Point  Douglas  to  the  rapids  of  the  St.  Louis  river 
of  Lake  Superior;  $10,000  from  the  same  point  to  Fort  Gaines; 
$5,000  from  the  mouth  of  Swan  river  to  the  Winnebago 
Agency  at  Long  Prairie;  $5,000  for  a  road  from  Wabasha  to 
Mendota;  $5,000  for  the  survey  and  laying  out  of  a  military 
road  from  Mendota  to  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Sioux  river;  these 
roads  to  be  made  under  the  direction  of  the  secretary  of  war, 


146  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

and  their  contracts  determined  by  him.  With  an  amendment 
to  the  bill,  that  the  governors  of  Minnesota  and  Oregon  terri- 
tories shall  annually  report  to  Congress  an  itemized  statement 
of  the  expenditure  of  all  moneys  appropriated  for  the  benefit 
of  said  territories,  applied  under  the  order  of  the  governor 
and  legislative  assembly,  and  the  addition  of  the  words,  "and 
for  other  purposes,"  to  the  title  of  the  bill,  the  bill  was  passed 
by  the  house.  Thus,  in  connection  with  the  bill  preceding 
this,  the  sum  of  880,000,  in  addition  to  the  amounts  api^ro- 
priated  in  the  bill  of  the  previous  session  of  Congress  organ- 
izing the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  had  been  secured  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Minnesota  from  the  national  treasury  for  the  purposes 
above  stated.  Among  the  many  petitions  and  memorials  pre- 
sented to  the  house  by  Mr.  Sibley  during  this  first  session  of 
the  Thirty-first  Congress,  1849-1850,  was  that  of  Charles  Ca- 
reeno,  praying  for  the  passage  of  an  act  by  Congress,  instruct- 
ing the  Indian  department  to  pay,  from  the  annuities  due  to 
the  Chippewa  Indians,  a  reasonable  sum  of  money  for  personal 
injuries  sustained  by  him  at  the  hands  of  an  individual  of  that 
tribe. 

Among  the  deeply  interesting  questions  which,  during  the 
first  session  of  the  Thirty-first  Congress,  agitated  not  only  the 
house,  but  the  senate  and  the  whole  country,  were  hoo,  in 
the  public  discussion  of  which  Mr.  Sibley  took  part,  the  one 
relating  to  the  admission  of  delegates  from  Utah  and  Xew 
Mexico,  and  also  relating  to  the  rights  and  privileges  of  dele- 
gates in  general  on  the  floor  of  the  house,  the  popular  branch 
of  Congress,  the  other  in  relation  to  the  policy  of  the  federal 
government  toward  the  Indians.  It  is  well  known,  as  a  matter 
of  history,  that,  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  the  vast  region  of 
Texas,  the  United  States,  taking  the  initiative,  first  of  all 
made  offer  to  Mexico  to  buy  Texas,  which  offer  Mexico  de- 
clined. The  next  step  toward  the  attainment  of  the  object  thus 
sought,  but  so  far  defeated,  was  the  declaration  of  Texan  inde- 
pendence. The  third  step  was  the  admission  of  Texas  into 
the  Union,  her  western  boundary  being  the  river  Nueces.  In 
183G,  however,  Texas  claimed  jurisdiction  to  the  Eio  Grande, 
covering  ])y  this  claim  the  entire  province  of  New  Mexico 
which  had  been  conquered  by  the  federal  arms,  the  people  of 
New  Mexico,  hostile  to  the  Texans,  disputing  the  claim.  As 
Texas  had  been  secured  in  the  interest  of  slavery,  and  New 
Mexico  luid  declared  heiself  in  favor  of  freedom,  the  antagon- 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  147 

ism  of  interest  aud  policy  was  sharp  and  intense  as  possible. 
The  delegate  from  New  Mexico — her  boundary  line  in  dis- 
pute, her  competence  to  declare  for  freedom  denied,  jurisdic- 
tion over  her  claimed  by  another  state,  unorganized  still  as  a 
territory,  her  relation  to  Texas  on  the  one  hand  and  to  the 
United  States  on  the  other,  a  matter  of  contention  —  had  come 
to  "Washington.  Having  appeared  in  the  house  of  represen- 
tatives, his  credentials  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Elections,  the  committee  reporting  in  favor  of  his  admission 
to  a  seat  on  the  floor  of  the  house  as  "the  delegate  from  'New 
Mexico."  Party  lines  were  drawn  at  once.  At  the  same 
time,  Utah,  in  an  abnormal  manner,  had  also  sent  a  delegate 
to  Congress,  and  the  Committee  on  Elections  had  similarly 
reported  in  favor  of  his  admission  to  a  seat  in  the  house,  as 
the  "delegate  from  Utah." 

What  involved  Mr.  Sibley  in  the  discussion  that  arose 
was  the  singular  fact  that  his  own  admission  to  a  seat  in 
the  house  as  the  "delegate  from  Wisconsin  Territory,"  at 
the  opening  of  the  second  session  of  the  previous  Congress, 
was  pleaded  by  the  friends  of  the  delegates  of  Utah  and  New 
Mexico,  as  a  precedent  applicahle  to  both  these  cases.  The  dis- 
cussion brought  out  fully  the  merits  of  the  whole  contro- 
versy, while  the  temper  of  the  times  revealed  a  spectacle 
of  political  morality  humiliating  to  the  nation,  evincing  how 
the  one  great  question  that  divided  North  and  South  was 
the  sole  question  by  which,  in  a  party  interest,  every  other 
question  was  to  be  determined.  It  was  in  the  midst  of  the 
discussion,  July  16,  1850,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Ashe  of  North  Caro- 
lina yielding  the  floor,  that  Mr.  Sibley  rose  to  "disentan- 
gle" his  own  case,  and  that  of  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin  he 
had  represented,  in  the  previous  session,  from  the  cases  of 
the  delegates  of  Utah  and  New  Mexico.  Substantially  the 
points  of  his  argument  were  these,  viz.:  (1)  That  no  par- 
allel existed  between  the  territories  of  New  Mexico  and  Utah 
on  the  one  side  and  the  residuum  of  Wisconsin  Territory  on 
the  other,  the  latter  being  under  a  legally  organized  govern- 
ment, recognized  by  Congress,  and  unrepealed,  in  terms,  when 
Wisconsin  was  admitted  as  a  state.  (2)  That  he  had  been 
duly  elected  by  the  people,  his  credentials  bearing  the  attesta- 
tion of  the  governor  and  the  broad  seal  of  the  territory.  (3) 
That  the  Committee  on  Elections,  and  the  house,  by  a  vote  of 
124  to  63,  had  decided  that  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin  had  a 


148  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

legal  existence  and  was  entitled  to  representation.  (4)  That, 
although  some  members  of  the  house  repudiated  the  doctrine 
of  the  committee,  and  claimed  to  have  given  their  votes  on  the 
score  of  courtesy  alone,  yet,  where  a  large  number  of  United 
States  citizens  existed,  as  &owa^(Ze  settlers,  outside  the  limits  of 
a  state,  but  inside  the  territorial  limits  out  of  which  the  state 
was  carved,  it  was  always  in  the  discretion  of  the  house,  and 
in  accord  with  the  spirit  of  our  institutions,  to  admit  a  regu- 
larly elected  delegate,  representing  them,  to  a  seat  on  the  floor 
of  the  house.  (5)  That,  could  the  jDarallel  be  drawn  between 
the  cases  of  the  delegates  from  Utah  and  New  Mexico,  so  far 
the  action  of  the  house  would  be  a  precedent  for  the  cases  then 
pending,  but  no  further.  But  (6)  beyond  all  these  considera- 
tions just  named,  Mr.  Sibley  contended  that  bis  claim,  last 
session,  to  a  seat  in  the  house  was  based  on  a  deeper  and  more 
enduring  ground.  To  use  his  own  concluding  language:  ^'I 
must  frankly  say  that  my  claim  for  admission  here,  at  the  last 
session,  was  based  upon  what  I  regarded  then,  and  regard 
now,  as  a  far  more  tenable  position.  I  contended  then,  and 
contend  now,  that  there  was  no  moral  or  legal  right,  on  the 
part  of  the  government,  to  disfranchise  and  virtually  outlaw 
a  iDortion  of  its  own  citizens,  aftet^  it  had  encouraged  them  to  be- 
come settlers  J  and  sold  them  lands  ichereon  to  establish  themselves. 
*  *  ^  It  was  a  vital  principle  that  was  involved,  and  I  re- 
gret that  it  was  not  positively  affirmed  in  the  decision  of  the 
house."  ^  It  was  clear  from  this  lucid  exposition  of  the  facts 
in  the  case  that  to  admit  the  delegates  from  Utah  and  New 
Mexico,  by  virtue  of  the  application  of  the  action  of  the  house 
in  Mr.  Sibley's  case,  would  have  been  a  willful  perversion  of 
his  case,  and  a  wrong  to  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin,  by  equa- 
ting it  with  Utah  and  New  Mexico.  Chiefly,  as  to  New  Mex- 
ico, it  never  was  an  organized  territory,  nor  never  had  a  civil 
government,  nor  was  the  election  of  its  delegate  by  the  people, 
but  solely  by  a  quasi  military  government,  self-constituted  but 
afterward  repudiated  by  the  people.  After  a  long  and  severe 
discussion,  the  whole  matter  was,  by  a  decisive  vote,  ''laid 
upon  the  table." 

As  to  the  rights  of  delegates  admitted  to  their  seats  in  the 
liouse,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Boyden  of  North  Carolina  and  the  Hon. 
Mr.  Stepliens  of  Georgia  had  taken  tlie  ground  that  delegates 
from  territories  organized  and  recognized  by  the  Congress  of 

1  Congressional  Globe,  Vol.  21,  Part  2,  p.  1389. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  149 

tlie  United  States  had  but  one  sole  right  and  privilege  in  the 
house,  viz.,  that  of  addressing  the  speaker  strictly  in  reference 
to  matters  appertaining  to  the  interests  of  the  territory  he 
represented.  The  right  to  make  a  motion,  frame  a  bill,  intro- 
duce a  resolution,  or  discuss  any  subject  outside  the  special 
territorial  interest,  was  denied.  In  reply  to  both  these  gen- 
tlemen, Mr.  Sibley  took  the  opportunity,  August  2,  1850,  to 
assert  and  defend  the  position  that,  to  every  duly  elected 
delegate,  from  any  territory  recognized  by  the  government, 
belongs  every  right  that  pertains  to  any  representative  of  a 
state,  save  that  of  voting.  The  vote  alone  is  the  legislative  act 
peculiar  to  state  representatives.  All  else  is  common  to  rep- 
resentatives and  delegates  alike.  And  this  he  demonstrated 
was  ''the  doctrine  of  the  country"  and  of  the  ablest  statesmen 
in  it.  It  was  the  doctrine  of  the  act  of  1817  which  defines  the 
duties  of  delegates,  and  extends  to  them  the  full  right  of  delib- 
eration and  debate,  but  not  of  voting.  And  it  is  grounded  in 
the  nature  of  the  case.  For  (1)  there  is  no  measure  discussed 
in  Congress,  and  no  legislation  taken,  which  does  not  affect, 
directly  or  remotely,  the  people  of  the  territories,  as  truly  as 
it  does  those  of  the  states;  and  (2)  a  territory  is  not  a  mere 
colony,  but  an  integral  member,  and  essential  part,  of  the 
great  republic  itself,  a  recognized  portion  of  the  citizens  of 
the  United  States,  equally  interested  with  all  the  rest,  in  all 
that  is  transacted  in  the  popular  branch  of  the  common  gov- 
ernment, and  in  the  senate  as  well;  while  (3)  its  people  have 
all  the  specific  and  constitutional  rights  of  all  other  citizens 
resident  in  the  states,  and  are  taxed  for  the  support  of  the 
government.  Such,  in  brief,  is  the  substance  of  the  reply  of 
Mr.  Sibley,  made,  and  made  conclusively,  to  the  argument 
that  assailed  his  right  to  discuss  questions  outside  the  strict 
matter  appertaining  to  his  own  constituency.  And  in  this 
position  he  was  sustained  by  the  house  with  overwhelming 
vote,  when,  during  the  previous  session,  his  ''  right  to  move 
the  previous  question"  was  challenged  on  the  sole  ground  that 
he  was  "a  delegate  from  a  territory  not  yet  admitted  as  a 
state."  Had  Mr.  Sibley  been  a  less  important  personage,  or 
a  delegate  of  only  mean  or  ordinary  influence,  or  had  his 
adversaries  not  been  men  of  the  extremest  sort  of  strict  con- 
struction, the  challenge  and  reply  had  not  occurred.  As 
it  was,  it  provided  him  an  opportunity  to  show  what,  every- 
where, he  showed,  that  though  latest  born  among  the  mem- 


150  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

bers  of  the  liouse,  he  stood  second  to  none  Id  his  knowledge  of 
the  Constitution  and  the  history  of  the  country,  the  precedents 
of  Congress,  or  as  a  debater  on  its  floor. 

Kext  in  importance  to  the  right  to  be  heard,  stands  the 
right  use  of  that  right,  and  nowhere  did  the  delegate  from 
Minnesota  exercise,  it  with  more  eloquence  or  charm  than 
when  pleading^  the  cause  of  the  red  man,  a  theme  that  ever 
evoked  the  utterance  of  his  deepest  convictions,  and  breath  of 
his  warmest  sympathies.  He  regarded  the  Indian  as  wronged, 
oppressed,  betrayed,  and  driven  to  desj)eration,  and  even  to 
massacre,  by  the  inhuman  conduct  of  the  federal  government 
and  its  agents.  With  unsparing  severity  he  assailed  its  policy. 
Perfectly  acquainted  with  it,  personally  observant  of  its  o^ev- 
ation  and  efi'ect,  familiar,  as  a  pioneer,  and  Western  head  of 
the  great  Astor  Fur  Company,  with  the  Indian  tribes  that 
roamed  the  Western  lands,  and  among  whom  he  lived,  whose 
costume  he  had  worn,  whose  language  he  spoke,  whose  natural 
virtues,  modes  of  life,  their  character  and  needs  and  wrongs, 
he  knew,  and  degradation  too;  for  fifteen  years  their  friend 
and  their  companion;  of  all  men  in  either  hall  of  Congress,  none 
were  more  able,  and  none  more  entitled  to  speak  on  this  sub- 
ject than  was  he.  By  a  divine  dispensation,  as  it  were,  the 
mission  seems  to  have  been  intrusted  to  him  to  speak  for  the 
Indian.  What  Sumner  was  to  the  black  man,  Sibley  was  to 
the  red  man,  in  every  emergency.  Nor  did  he  omit  any  favora- 
ble opportunity.  Already  the  bill  he  had  introduced  in  ref- 
erence to  the  extension  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States  over 
the  aboriginal  tribes  of  the  country,  especially  of  Oregon  and 
Minnesota,  had  gone  to  the  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs.  It 
was,  April  30,  1850,  when  the  general  discussion  upon  the  bill 
for  taking  the  seventh  census  of  the  United  States  had  reached 
its  height,  that  Mr.  Sibley  rose  from  his  seat,  and,  entitled  to 
the  floor,  gave  notice  of  an  amendment  to  the  efi'ect  "that  the 
secretary  of  the  interior  cause  an  enumeration  to  be  made  of 
all  the  Indian  tribes  within  the  limits  of  the  states  and  organ- 
ized territories  of  the  Union,  so  far  as  j^racti cable."  The 
ap[)alling  fact  existed  that  the  Indians  were  diminishing  at 
tlic  rate  of  from  2,000  to  4,000  a  year,  or  from  20,000  to  40,000 
during  the  iiitervals  between  the  taking  of  the  census,  and  it 
M'as  but  right  and  humane  tliat  the  government  should  inquire 
into  the  real  cause  of  tliis  distressing  fatality,  and  seek,  if  pos- 
sil)1e,  a  remedy  for  the  same.     How  thoroughlj^  in  earnest 


II 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  151 


was  the  eloquent  champion  of  the  red  man's  rights,  may  be 
learned  from  but  a  single  passage  of  his  speech  on  that  occa- 
sion. "Sir,"  said  he,  "during  this  session  we  have  heard 
these  halls  ring  with  eloquent  denunciations  of  the  oppressor, 
—  with  expressions  of  sympathy  for  the  downtrodden  millions 
of  other  lands, — while  gentlemen  seem  not  to  be  aware  that 
there  exists,  under  the  government  of  this  republic,  a  species 
of  grinding  and  intolerable  oppression  of  which  the  Indian 
tribes  are  the  victims,  and,  compared  with  which,  the  worst 
forms  of  human  bondage,  now  existing  in  any  Christian  state, 
may  be  regarded  as  a  comfort  and  a  blessing."  ^ 

These  words,  however,  were  but  a  preparatory  note  to  Mr. 
Sibley's  formal  arraignment  of  the  policy  of  the  government, 
three  months  later.  August  2,  1850,  the  Indian  appropriation 
bill  being  under  discussion  before  the  house,  Mr.  Sibley  ob- 
tained the  floor,  and,  moving  to  strike  out  the  first  section  of 
the  bill,  proceeded  to  address  the  house  upon  the  relation  of 
the  government  to  the  Indian  tribes,  especially  of  the  North- 
west. He  who  reads,  carefully,  the  debates  and  speeches  in 
the  National  Congress,  will  find  other  parliamentary  efforts 
more  protracted  than  this  one,  and  some  which  have  acquired 
a  national  and  world-wide  fame, — not,  however,  from  their 
intrinsic  merit  but  from  the  intense  interest  of  the  nation  and 
the  world,  at  the  time  of  their  delivery,  in  the  questions 
with  which  they  were  connected, — the  speeches  of  a  Webster, 
a  Seward,  a  Sumner,  a  Calhoun,  a  Clay,  in  reference  to  "Com- 
promise," "Secession,"  and  "Dissolution  of  the  Union," — 
but,  from  first  to  last,  even  with  the  oppression  of  the  negro 
for  a  theme,  will  he  find  no  speech  by  any  senator  or  repre- 
sentative, of  merit  superior  to  that  delivered  by  the  delegate 
from  Minnesota  on  the  occasion  above  mentioned.  For  chaste- 
ness  and  perfection  of  expression,  logical  order,  wealth  of  his- 
toric knowledge,  deep  moral  earnestness  of  sentiment,  un- 
sparing arraignment  of  the  government,  portrayal  of  the 
wrongs  inflicted  on  the  red  man,  recognition  of  a  righteous 
Providence  which  metes  to  nations  as  to  men  the  reward  due 
to  their  ofi'enses,  pathetic  pleadings  in  behalf  of  the  Indian 
whose  home  and  soil  and  graves  of  his  fathers  the  govern- 
ment had  wrested  from  him  by  violence  and  fraud,  and  for 
thrilling  appeal  to  the  intellect,  heart,  and  conscience  of  the 
country,  it  stands,  in  its  eight  solid  columns  of  the  Congres- 

1  Globe,  Vol.  21,  Part  1,  p.  855. 


152  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

sional  Globe,  unsurpassed  by  any  ever  heard  by  congressional 
ears.  To  attempt  to  analyze  it  is  to  destroy  it,  it  is  so  agglu- 
tinated in  the  progress  and  the  process  of  its  thought.  The 
problem  before  the  government,  with  respect  to  the  Indian, 
Mr.  Sibley  declared  to  involve  but  two  alternatives  in  its  so- 
lution, either  (1)  the  entire  civilization  of  the  Indian  tribes, 
or  (2)  their  entire  extermination,  a  solution  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  peace,  safety,  and  prosperity,  or  oncoming 
unparalleled  disaster  of  the  territories  in  whose  midst,  or  on 
whose  frontiers,  the  Indian  tribes  are  found.  He  reviews  the 
policy  of  the  government,  reminding  the  nation  that  it  is  not 
now  what  it  was  in  earlier  times.  He  suggests  the  remedy  for 
existing  evils.  As  to  the  policy  of  the  government,  it  is  one 
of  injustice,  cruelty,  treachery,  violation  of  treaties  the  most 
sacred,  stipulations  and  promises  being  regarded  as  conven- 
ient means  of  public  robbery  and  private  fraud,  the  will  of 
the  stronger  ever  the  rule  of  action,  the  dictation  of  the  pur- 
chaser ever  the  price  of  the  soil,  the  red  man  forced  to  sur- 
render his  possessory  rights  in  immemorial  tenures  of  country 
endeared  by  the  traditions  and  graves  of  his  tribe,  or  bayo- 
neted, rifled,  shot,  or  driven  from  one  so-called  "reservation'^ 
to  another,  until,  at  last,  turning  enraged  on  his  foe,  he  sought 
vengeance  in  massacre,  crime,  and  deeds  of  brutality,  for 
which  the  government  itself,  and  its  horde  of  vagabond 
''Indian  agents,"  worse  than  the  Indians  themselves,  were 
alone  responsible.  With  great  power,  he  pointed  the  house 
to  the  fact  that,  unlike  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans,  and 
later  Franks,  or  the  British  Empire,  who  never  withheld  from 
their  conquered  captives  the  means  to  endow  them  with  privi- 
leges indispensable  to  their  existence  and  civilization,  it  re- 
mained for  the  Auglo-SaxonSj  and  even  the  sons  of  the  Pil- 
grim Fathers,  escaped  from  persecution,  to  wrest  by  cruelty 
and  crime  the  soil  itself  that  gave  to  the  red  man  birth,  nur- 
tured his  youth,  and  cheered  his  manhood,  and  contained  in  its 
breast  the  ashes  of  his  sires,  without  even  once  seeking  to  lift 
him  to  a  level  high  as  their  own,  or  laboring  to  incorporate 
him  into  their  own  community.  Still  more,  under  no  otlier 
nation  of  couquerera  were  the  conquered  ever  known  to 
become  extinct,  while  under  the  policy  of  the  American  Gov- 
ernment, a  race  of  men  of  noble  natural  virtues,  with  whose 
heroic  efforts  in  defense  of  their  wives  and  children,  their 
homes  and  rights,  history  had  dealt  falsely,  were  fast  becom- 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  153 

ing  exterminated.  What  wonder  that  the  so-called  ''Indian 
atrocities"  should  be  enacted?  For  every  Indian  war,  since 
the  country  had  an  existence,  the  government  alone  was 
responsible.  "Sir,"  said  he,  in  the  fidelity  of  a  fearless  utter- 
ance, ^^all  the  Indian  wars  you  have  had  on  your  hands,  and,- 
what  are  likely  to  occur  hereafter,  have  been  and  will  be  oc- 
casioned by  proceedings  such  as  I  have  but  faintly  described, 
on  the  part  of  your  agents.  The  Black  Hawk  difficulty, 
so  called,  which  cost  you  millions  of  dollars,  was  so  brought 
about.  The  Florida  war  took  its  origin  in  the  treaty  of 
Payne's  Landing,  by  which  the  Seminoles  conceived  them- 
selves deeply  defrauded  and  wronged.  This  war  has  already 
cost  you  some  thirty  or  forty  millions,  and  from  present  indica- 
tions is  likely  to  be  renewed  at  another  heavy  expenditure  on 
your  part.  And,  sir,  this  government  will  continue  to  be 
involved  in  troubles  with  the  Indian  tribes  until  it  ceases  to 
pursue  its  present  course,  and  adopts  a  policy  more  in  accord- 
ance with  the  principles  of  justice  and  humanity."^ 

Not  less,  at  times,  did  Mr.  Sibley  draw  attention  to  the 
glaring  inconsistency  and  self-contradiction  of  a  government 
boasting  of  freedom  yet  surpassing  all  others  in  acts  of  despotic 
power;  nay,  more,  of  that  very  section  of  the  country  loudest 
in  rebuke  of  African  slavery,  yet  slowest  in  rebuke  of  Indian 
wrongs.  What  a  spectacle  for  the  world's  public  mockery 
and  derision  of  American  institutions!  Blessing  a  Kossuth 
yet  cursing  an  Osceola!  Apj)lauding  the  European  struggle 
of  1848  in  behalf  of  popular  liberty,  yet  crushing  two  races 
of  men,  the  one  the  natural  owners  of  the  American  soil,  the 
other  imported  to  work  it,  in  sweat  of  their  face,  and  in 
bonds!  and  even  the  Indians'  ill  treatment  worse  than  the 
African's  condition!  A  territorial  development  crowned  with 
such  guilt  and  age-long  infliction  of  wrong,  for  the  sake  of 
greatness  and  gain,  could  only  invite  the  punishment  such 
transgression  provoked.  Already,  in  the  waxing  discord  of 
the  nation,  the  menace  of  civil  strife,  the  threat  of  disunion, 
and  the  ravage  of  pestilence  slaying  its  scores  of  thousands, 
Mr.  Sibley  saw  the  portent  of  judgment  that  one  day  must 
break  on  the  land,  unless  the  nation  forsook  its  ways  and 
turned  to  a  better  mind.  He  stood  in  the  halls  of  Congress  as 
the  interpreter  of  moral  righteousness  and  the  vindicator  of 
the  moral  government  of  him  who  appoints  to  nations  the  due 

1  Globe,  Vol.  21,  Part  2,  p.  1506. 


154  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

reward  of  their  sins,  and  inflicts,  by  their  own  hands,  the 
chastisement  their  crimes  have  deserved.  What  Sumner  was 
to  the  black  man,  Sibley  was  to  the  red  man. 

As  to  the  remedy,  Mr.  Sibley  suggested  to  Congress,  in  sub- 
stance, as  follows:  (1)  The  total  and  instant  abandonment  of 
the  present  system  of  reservations.  (2)  The  extension  of  the 
laws  of  the  United  States  over  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  the 
country.  This  he  regarded  as  the  fundamental  measure,  the 
sine  qua  non,  in  any  possible  solution  of  the  problem  of  Indian 
civilization.  (3)  The  gift  of  separate  property,  or  personal 
possession  of  land,  put  beyond  the  power  of  alienation,  so 
tending  to  break  up  the  tribal  relations,  and  need  of  reserva- 
tions. (4)  The  endowment  of  the  Indian  with  civil  rights,  all 
political  rights  held  in  abeyance  until  the  jiroper  future  time 
to  bestow  them.  (5)  The  establishment  of  manual  labor  schools 
for  the  education  of  Indian  children,  this  education  being 
made  comjjulsory  until  such  time  as  the  same  should  no 
longer  be  needed.  (6)  The  protection  of  the  Indian  from  the 
demoralizing  influences  of  the  white  man,  to  which  already 
much  of  his  degradation  was  due.  (7)  The  continuation  of 
annuities,  until  the  Indians'  condition  rendered  them  no  lon- 
ger necessary.  (8)  And,  by  all  these  means,  with  the  best 
religious  restraints  and  examples  thrown  around  him,  to  en- 
courage, help,  stimulate,  uplift,  and  prepare  him  for  recep- 
tion, as  an  equal,  in  the  American  community.  Such  is  a 
lame  outline  of  the  plan  ]3roposed  as  a  remedy  for  the  existing 
evils,  and  as  a  help  to  the  solution,  of  the  Indian  problem. 
And  with  ardor  worthy  of  a  Wilberforce,  a  Howard,  or  a 
Clarkson,  Mr.  Sibley  pressed  it,  in  behalf  of  men  whom, 
though  savage,  he  described,  from  personal  knowledge,  as  "a 
noble  race,  gifted  ivith  a  high  order  of  intellect,  and  an  aptitude 
for  acquiring  Imoicledge  fully  equal  to  that  possessed  by  the  whites.^'' 
That  it  was  no  chimerical  scheme  he  advocated,  he  proved  by 
the  weightiest  testimonies  from  the  ablest  statesmen  the 
United  States  had  ever  produced,  from  other  writers,  and 
from  the  heads  of  the  Indian  department  of  the  government. 
There  is  something  intensely  stirring,  in  the  early  historic 
associations  awakened  by  the  thrilling  question  of  the  orator, 
"Sir,  who  has  a  better  claim  upon  the  government  of  the  United 
Slates,  for  civilization,  than  the  Indian f^^ 

The  peroration  is  prophetic.    The  inspired  prophets  of  old, 
their  eyes  fixed  on  the  future,  their  feet  standing  upon  the 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  155 

eternal  law  of  righteousness,  were  wont  to  denounce  the  judg- 
ments of  Heaven  against  the  Hebrew  commonwealth  for  its 
continued  violation  of  truth,  covenant,  and  right,  and  its  con- 
tinued oppression  of  the  needy,  the  helpless,  and  the  poor. 
Not  less  ominous  of  portending  judgment  to  the  American 
nation,  and  scarcely  less  impressive,  are  the  closing  words  of 
the  Hon.  Mr.  Sibley,  when,  forecasting  the  future,  he  warns 
the  government  of  the  calamity  that  one  day  must  avenge  the 
pursuit  of  its  policy,  so  fraught  with  iniquity,  and  so  fitted  to 
provoke  the  vengeance  of  God. 

"Mr.  Chairman,"  said  he,  "I  remark,  in  conclusion,  that  if  anything  is 
to  be  done  it  must  be  done  noiv.  The  busy  hum  of  civilized  communities  is 
already  heard  beyond  the  mighty  Mississippi.  You  are  about  to  remove  the 
Oregon  Indians  to  the  east  of  the  Cascade  Mountains.  The  settlements  in 
Utah  and  New  Mexico  are  driving  the  tribes,  that  roam  the  prairies  in  that 
quarter,  toward  the  east  and  the  north.  Your  pioneers  are  encircling  the  last 
home  of  the  red  man,  as  with  a  wall  of  fire.  Their  encroachments  are  per- 
ceptible in  the  restlessness  and  belligerent  demonstrations  of  the  powerful 
bauds  who  inhabit  your  remote  Western  j)lains.  You  must  approach  these 
with  terms  of  conciliation  and  friendship,  or  you  must  soon  suffer  the  conse- 
quences of  a  bloody  and  remorseless  Indian  war.  Sir,  what  is  to  become  of 
the  fifty  or  sixty  thousand  savage  warriors  and  their  families,  who  line  your 
frontier,  when  the  buffalo  and  other  game  upon  which  they  now  depend  for 
subsistence  are  exhausted  ?  Think  you  they  ivill  lie  down  and  die  without  a 
struggle?  No,  sir;  no!  The  time  is  not  far  distant  when,  pent  in  on  all 
sides,  and  suffering  from  want,  a  Philip,  or  a  Tecumseh,  will  arise  to  baud 
themselves  together  for  a  last  and  desperate  onset  upon  their  white  foes. 
What  then  will  avail  the  handful  of  soldiers  stationed  to  guard  the  frontier? 
Sir,  they,  and  your  extreme  Western  settlements,  will  be  swept  away  as  with 
the  besom  of  destruction.  We  know  that  the  struggle,  in  such  a  case, 
would  be  unavailing  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  and  must  necessarily  end  in 
their  extermination.  But  this  nation  will  subject  itself  to  additional  and  awful 
retributions  of  that  Providence  without  whose  knoivledge  and  permission  not  even 
a  sparrow  falls  to  the  ground,  if  it  fails  to  use  every  endeavor  to  avert  so  dire  a 
catastrophe.  This  republic  is,  even  now,  expiating  its  guilt  in  this  respect, 
to  some  extent,  by  the  visitations  of  pestilence,  and  the  weakening  of  that 
bond  of  harmony  among  its  members  which  was  wont  to  exist.  While  mani- 
festing an  active  sympathy  for  the  nations  of  the  Old  World  who  are  down  - 
trodden  by  despotic  power, — while,  like  the  Pharisees  of  old,  we  are  thanking 
God  that  we  are  not  as  other  men  are, —  we  seem  to  forget  that  we  are  still 
pursuing  a  line  of  policy  toward  the  Indian  race  which  has  already  destroyed 
countless  thousands  of  them.  Sir,  this  nation  of  more  than  twenty  millions 
of  people  can  well  afford  to  reach  forth  its  friendly  hand  to  rescue  the  resi- 
due of  this  unhappy  race  from  degradation  and  death.  You  are  taking  from 
them  their  lands,  their  homes,  their  all,  and  whatever  return  can  be  made 
them,  in  this  hour  of  their  greatest  need,  should  be  granted  with  an  ungrudg- 
ing and  generous  hand.     Well  might  the  eloquent  Sevier,  whose  voice  is 


156  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

now  silenced  in  death,  thus  appeal  to  the  senate  in  behalf  of  the  Indian 
tribes,  in  1839.  Said  he,  '  Let  us  remember  the  kind  and  hospitable  recep- 
tion of  our  ancestors  by  the  natives  of  the  country;  a  reception  which  has 
been  perpetuated,  in  carved  figures,  in  the  walls  of  the  rotunda  of  this 
capitol;  and,  in  remembering  these  things,  let  us  this  day  step  forward  and 
do  something  for  our  wretched  dependents,  worthy  of  a  great,  a  merciful, 
and  a  generous  Christian  people. '  "  ^ 

It  is  not  an  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  halls  of  Congress 
never  heard  any  appeal  more  simple,  chaste,  righteous,  or 
powerful,  or  supported  by  higher  sentiments  of  humanity, 
religion,  and  morality,  or  any  cause  vindicated  by  a  higher 
sense  of  justice,  gratitude,  and  duty.  Eead  by  itself,  the  ex- 
tract quoted  is  indeed  a  specimen  of  the  purest  oratory,  free 
from  any  taint  of  strained  or  spurious  rhetoric,  and  produc- 
tive of  convictions  deep  and  lasting.  But,  unwrenched  from 
the  whole  preceding  argument,  so  cogent  and  conclusive,  and 
from  the  whole  unsparing  and  intense  impeachment  of  the 
government,  its  effect  is  magical,  and  forms  a  peroration  of 
which,  for  dignity  of  tone,  directness  of  address,  and  simple 
majesty,  as  well  as  tenderness  and  truth,  the  foremost  orators 
of  any  age  might  well  be  proud.  Had  Congress  but  heeded 
the  appeal,  and  laid  to  heart  the  prophecy  its  words  con- 
tained, what  agony,  loss  of  treasure,  and  of  blood,  had  it  not 
averted!  And  how  significant,  not  merely  that  the  sad  pre- 
diction was  verified  in  history,  but,  far  more,  even  that,  when, 
in  the  hour  of  the  nation's  deepest  woe,  engaged  in  a  civil 
war  the  greatest  of  the  century,  and  of  any  nation,  the 
mightiest,  bloodiest,  and  widest,  Indian  massacre  was  added  to 
her  other  miseries,  it  was  to  this  eloquent  orator  the  State  of 
Minnesota  and  the  nation  looked,  and  at  General  Sibley's 
hands  they  found  deliverance.  Such  conjunctures  i^re  not 
often  chronicled  in  the  annals  of  any  people.  With  what  sat- 
isfaction may  the  Minnesotians  recall  the  fact  that,  fourteen 
years  before  the  great  Sioux  outbreak,  their  delegate  in  Con- 
gress, the  pioneer  and  prince  of  all  their  delegates,  had  pro- 
tested to  Congress,  "i/,  unfortunately,  this  government  shall 
still  persist  in  its  present  course,  with  a  full  knowledge  of  its  un- 
hajjjjij  tendency,  Minnesota  shall,  at  least,  he  free  from  all  respon- 
sibility upon  thai  score! ^'^'^ 

Minds  untainted   by  political   prejudice,  free    from    sec- 
tional  asperity,  and  ennobled  by  the  common  instincts  of 

1  Globe,  Vol.  21,  Tart.  2,  pp.  ir.0o-150S. 

2  Ibid,  p.  1500. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D,  157 

humanity,  would  scarcely  dream  that  an  appeal  so  just,  find- 
ing a  response  in  every  heart,  and  fraught  with  issues  of  such 
moment  to  the  nation,  could  encounter  opposition  in  the  halls 
of  Congress.  It  was  reserved,  however,  for  the  Hon.  Mr. 
Mason,  as  soon  as  Mr.  Sibley  had  resumed  his  seat,  to  rise 
and,  not  alone  resist,  but  ridicule,  the  effort  of  the  delegate 
from  Minnesota.  Squarely,  in  the  face  of  the  whole  argu- 
ment of  Mr.  Sibley,  his  arraignment  of  the  '■^policy''''  of  the  gov- 
ernment, and  his  presentation  of  the  '"'•remedy''^  for  existing 
evils,  the  honorable  member  asserted  that  ' '  no  plan  had  been 
proposed"  to  effect  this  object.  Using  the  well-known  soph- 
ism, built  on  the  ambiguous  word  "equal,"  by  the  delegate 
from  Minnesota,  he  further  asserted  that  "history  had  proved 
it  impossible  to  civilize  the  Indian,  or  make  him  equal  to  the 
white  man;"  that  "Nature  and  Nature's  God  had  made  the 
white  man,  the  red  man,  and  the  black  man," — ^Hhree  races  of 
animals,  called  men,^^  to  try  and  make  whom  equal  is  all  the  same 
as  to  try  and  "make  every  variety  of  birds  equal, — those  which 
have  heavy  bodies  and  small  wings  to  fly  and  soar  like  eagles 
and  other  birds  that  have  long  wings  and  light  bodies,"  with 
more  of  the  same  sort  of  zoological  and  ornithological  argu- 
mentation. The  scoff  was  aptly  met  by  Mr.  Sibley,  interrupt- 
ing, and  inquiring  sweetly,  "if  the  gentleman  did  not  regard 
the  Hon.  John  Randolph  and  other  Virginians,  who  boasted  of 
their  Indian  blood,  as  men  furnished  with  long  wings  and  light 
bodies,^'  Mr.  Mason  admitting  the  fact  but  pleading  that  this 
was  only  "an  exception  "  to  the  general  law.  To  this  Mr.  Sib- 
ley at  once  rejoined  that,  so  far  from  being  "an  exception," 
it  was  but  an  "illustration"  of  the  general  law  well  known 
to  everyone,  and  furthermore,  ^Hhat,  wherever  the  Indian  race 
are  allowed  the  same  advantages  with  the  ivhites  they  are  as  capa- 
ble of  improvement,  and  are  equal  to  them  in  every  respect,^''  and 
that  ' '  had  the  getitleman  lived  as  long  as  he  (Mr.  Sibley)  had,  among 
the  red  men,  he  would  be  better  versed  in  their  history.^''  To  other 
accusations  of  like  nature  Mr.  Sibley  applied  the  prompt  and 
parliamentary  castigation,  and  upon  the  principle  of  ^'■Nesutor 
ultra  crepidam,^^  "Cobbler,  stick  to  your  last,"  allowed  the 
honorable  member  to  indulge  his  opposition  without  further 
interference,  and  veer  off  into  a  discussion  of  the  policy  the 
government  ought  to  pursue  with  reference  to  the  blacls. 
This  episode  is  important,  simply  as  showing  the  temper  of 
the  times  and  the   difficulties  Mr.  Sibley  was  compelled  to 


158  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

meet  at  every  step  of  his  congressional  career.  Slavery  for 
the  black  man,  savagery  for  the  red  man,  and  freedom  for  the 
white  man,  seemed,  to  many,  to  be  the  sum  of  all  political 
wisdom,  and  the  essence  of  all  genuine  humanity. 

With  his  defense  of  the  claims  of  the  Indian  to  civiliza- 
tion, Mr.  Sibley  closed  his  public  utterances  in  the  first  session 
of  the  Thirty-first  Congress.  Of  the  bills,  resolutions,  and 
motions  he  had  offered,  some,  as  already  seen,  were  acted  upon 
with  liberal  favor,  while  others  were  either  suppressed  in  the 
committees  to  whom  they  were  referred,  or  not  yet  reported 
back,  or  still  under  discussion,  or  ordered  on  the  files  of  the 
house  as  unfinished  business  reserved  for  future  action  at  the 
next  ensuing  Congress.  Faithful  to  his  trust,  instant  in  sea- 
son and  out  of  season,  a  shining  credit  to  his  constituents, 
having  already  won  for  himself  the  respect  of  the  ablest  men 
in  both  houses  of  Congress,  he  could  now  return  to  the  bosom, 
and  the  greeting,  of  his  friends  at  home,  as  once  before,  receive 
their  cordial  welcome,  rehearse  the  labors  of  his  servant-life 
in  their  behalf,  and  prepare  himself  for  further  duties  that 
awaited  him. 


The  second  session  of  the  Thirty-first  Congress  found  the 
Hon.  Mr.  Sibley  promptly  at  his  post  and  early  at  his  work. 
Already,  by  his  personal  accomplishments,  he  had  won  to  him- 
self the  invaluable  confidence  and  indispensable  co-operation 
of  senators  of  high  renown,  among  them  the  Hon.  Mr.  Douglas, 
chairman  of  the  senate's  Committee  on  Territories,  and  the 
acknowledged  champion  of  territorial  rights  and  privileges. 
Allies  so  potent  in  the  upper  house,  when  the  lower  house 
showed  disposition  to  embarrass  or  obstruct  the  wishes  of  Mr. 
Sibley  in  behalf  of  his  constituents,  could  only  prove  a  wel- 
come stimulus,  if  such  were  needed,  to  the  yet  more  vigorous 
prosecution  of  his  task. 

Pursuant  to  previous  notice,  first  of  all,  in  furtherance  of 
the  cause  he  loved  so  much,  Mr.  Sibley  introduced  a  bill, 
December  10, 1851,  "for  the  punishment  of  crimes  and  offenses 
committed  in  the  Indian  country  within  the  limits  of  Minne- 
sota Territorj^,  and  for  promoting  the  civilization  of  the  Indian 
race  therein."  The  bill  was  twice  read  by  its  title  and  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs.     December  13,  1850,  he 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  159 

gave  notice  of  his  purpose  to  introduce  three  other  bills,  viz., 
(1)  a  bill  "to  authorize  the  legislative  assemblies  of  Minnesota 
and  Oregon  to  lease  the  sixteenth  and  thirty- sixth  sections  of 
school  lands,  and  for  other  purposes;"  (2)  a  "bill  to  amend  an 
act  entitled  'An  Act  to  establish  the  territorial  government  of 
Minnesota;'"  (3)  a  "bill  for  the  relief  of  certain  settlers  on 
the  public  lands,  and  for  other  purposes."  The  subject  mat- 
ter in  the  first  of  these  was  covered  by  a  resolution,  introduced 
by  Mr.  Sibley,  December  18,  1850,  instructing  the  Committee 
on  Public  Lands  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  the  same, 
and,  again,  January  4,  1851,  was  formulated  into  a  special 
bill,  introduced  and  twice  read  by  its  title,  the  former  being 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands,  the  latter  to  the 
Committee  on  Territories,  each  to  report  by  bill  or  otherwise. 
By  unanimous  consent,  he  also  introduced,  December  30, 1850, 
a  bill  covering  t\\e  second  of  the  three  just  named,  viz.,  "to 
amend  an  act,"  as  just  quoted,  which,  in  like  manner,  was 
read  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Territories.  The  same 
day  he  presented  the  petition  of  Governor  Kamsey,  and  others, 
of  Minnesota,  praying  "for  a  grant  of  100,000  acres  of  land, 
including  the  military  reserve  of  Fort  Snelling,  to  the  Terri- 
tory of  Minnesota,  for  the  endowment  and  support  of  a  uni- 
versity therein,"  a  prayer  further  strengthened  by  the  petition 
of  George  C.  Nichols,  and  others,  invoking  the  same  benefac- 
tion, and  presented  January  18,  1851.  Attending  the  first  of 
these,  was  also  the  petition  of  J.  K.  Humphrey,  and  others, 
praying  ' '  for  a  grant  of  one  township  of  land  to  aid  in  the  con- 
struction of  a  magnetic  teleg7'aph  from  Prairie  du  Chien,  Wis- 
consin, to  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,"  and  further  enforced  by  the 
petition  of  Alexander  Wilkin,  and  others,  to  the  same  effect. 
January  24,  1851,  the  house  refusing  to  take  from  the  speak- 
er's table  the  senate  bill  "to  reduce  certain  military  reserva- 
tions, and  secure  the  rights  of  actual  settlers  on  the  same," 
Mr.  Sibley  then  presented  the  petition  of  Samuel  Thatcher, 
and  others,  praying  that  the  military  reservation,  including 
Fort  Snelling,  ' '  be  sold  at  public  sale,  and  the  proceeds  thereof 
expended  in  building  a  bridge  across  the  Mississippi  river,  at 
the  Fails  of  St.  Anthony,  and  the  remainder  for  the  purpose  of 
education."  To  this  was  added  the  petition  of  J.  W.  Simp- 
son, and  others,  praying  that  W.  Noots'  improvements  on 
school  section  36  be  secured  to  him,  and  other  lands  allowed 
to  the  Territory  of  Minnesota  in  lieu  thereof." 


160  ANCESTEY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

By  consent  of  the  house,  January  28,  1851,  and  on  the 
urgency  of  Mr.  Sibley,  the  senate  bill  ' '  reducing  the  bound- 
aries of  the  military  reserve  at  the  St.  Peter's  river"  (the 
Minnesota  river), ^  and  ''securing  the  rights  of  actual  set- 
tlers," was  taken  up,  twice  read,  and  referred  to  the  house's 
Committee  on  Public  Lands.  February  5,  1851,  it  was  reported 
back  to  the  house,  without  amendment,  read,  and  sharply 
discussed.  The  following  day,  upon  motion  of  Mr.  Sibley 
again,  the  senate  bill  legislating  "authority  to  the  governors 
of  Oregon  and  Minnesota,  and  the  legislative  assemblies  of 
these  territories,  to  provide,  by  law,  for  the  lease  of  school 
lands,  sections  16  and  36,"  was  taken  up,  read,  and  also 
sharply  discussed.  February  19,  1851,  Mr.  Sibley  presented 
the  petition  of  J.  P.  Wilson,  and  others,  praying  ''for  an 
appropriation  of  $10,000  to  remove  obstructions  to  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Mississippi  river,  between  Fort  Snelling  and  St. 
Anthony  Falls.  Such  is  only  a  brief  but  important  outline  of 
the  work  undertaken  and  proposed  by  the  delegate  from  Min- 
nesota, for  the  short  three-months'  session  of  the  Thirty-first 
Congress,  so  far  as  concerned  the  interests  of  Minnesota,  viz., 
the  introduction  of  four  bills  by  himself,  one  resolution,  the 
presentation  of  many  petitions,  and  the  reference  of  two  senate 
bills,  involving  repeated,  protracted,  and,  at  times,  incisive 
and  animated  discussions. 

The  bill  proposing  the  reduction  of  the  military  reser- 
vation at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Peter's  river — now  Minne- 
sota river — evoked  a  debate  in  which  a  large  number  of 
the  members  of  the  house  took  part,  Mr.  Sibley,  necessa- 
rily, among  them.  The  facts  were  these.  In  1805,  a  purchase 
was  made  from  the  Indians  of  nine  square  miles,  or  50,000 
acres,  of  the  finest  land  at  St.  Peter's  river,  by  Lieutenant 
Pike,  in  accordance  with  the  orders  of  the  president  of  the 
"United  States,  for  military  purposes.  Since  then,  as  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Minnesota  became  settled,  the  military  operations 
were  removed  into  the  interior,  rendering  the  military  post  at 
Fort  Snelling  comparatively  unnecessary,  certain  immigrants, 
by  permission  of  the  war  department  and  encouragement  of 
the  ofl&cers  of  the  fort,  settling  on  the  reservation  lands  then 
unsurveyed,  and  now  claiming  pre-emption  rights,  in  view  of 
the  reduction  of  the  reservation  to  whose  improvement  they 
had  thus  been  virtually  invited.     After  brief  discussion,  and 

1  Name  changed,  June  19, 1852. 


HON.  HENEY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  161 

some  delay  for  the  purpose  of  investigation,  the  senate  had, 
without  opposition,  and  with  slight  amendment,  passed  the 
bill  now  before  the  house,  originally  drafted  for  the  senate  by 
Mr.  Sibley,  and  warmly  advocated  by  Mr.  Douglas.  The 
occasion  of  the  bill  was  the  action  of  the  territorial  legislature 
of  Minnesota  memorializing  Congress  for  a  reduction  of  the  rener- 
vation  to  the  dimensions  of  one  mile  square,  with  legislation  securing 
the  rights  of  actual  settlers  ujwn  the  residimm,  that  is,  the  right  to 
the  value  of  their  improvements,  or  purchase  of  the  land  at  the 
government's  minimum  price.  Pursuant  to  the  memorial,  the 
war  department,  agreeing  with  the  territorial  legislature  as  to 
the  propriety  of  the  proposed  reduction,  yet  collided  with  it  as 
to  the  claims  of  the  actual  settlers,  and  favored  the  sale  of  the 
reservation,  at  public  auction,  to  the  highest  bidder.  Hence 
the  bill  prepared  by  Mr.  Sibley,  offered  in  the  senate  by  Mr. 
Douglas,  and  now,  slightly  modified,  taken  up,  February  5, 
1851,  in  the  house.  As  a  whole,  it  proposed  the  two  things 
above  memorialized,  viz.,  (1)  the  reductioyi  of  the  reservation 
from  nine  square  miles  to  one  mile  square,  and  (2)  the  security  of 
the  actual  settlers  thereon  in  their  pre-emption  ynghts. 

The  resistance  offered  to  the  bill  by  many  members  of  the 
house,  and  violently  by  some,  was  made  on  the  following 
grounds,  viz.,  (1)  that  the  bill  proposed  to  give  a  few  settlers 
around  Fort  Snelling,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others,  pre-emp- 
tion rights  on  unsurveyed  lands;  (2)  that  it  prescribed  a 
boundary  line,  prior  to  all  survey  of  the  land;  (3)  that  the 
war  department  had  not  been  consulted  in  reference  to  the 
measures  of  this  line;  (4)  that  strong  objections  were  made 
by  the  department,  and  by  some  people  in  the  territory,  to 
the  scheme  proposed;  (5)  that  it  would  be  unfair  should  the 
government  grant  pre-emption  to  the  favorites  of  the  military 
officers  of  the  fort,  barring  all  others  from  the  same;  (6)  that 
the  sale  of  military  reservations  had  always  been  conducted 
under  the  direction  of  the  war  department;  (7)  that  hundreds 
of  American  citizens  were  ready  to  bid  a  high  price  for  the 
lands  when  put  upon  the  market;  (8)  that  if  any  action  was 
taken,  it  should  be  the  total  abolition  of  Fort  Snelling;  (9) 
that  the  bill  ought  to  go  to  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs; 
(10)  that  the  reservation  is  more  valuable  than  all  other  Min- 
nesota lands,  and  should  be  sold,  if  at  all,  to  the  highest  bid- 
der; and  (11)  that  the  officers  of  the  fort  had  no  authority 
whatever,  nor  right,  to  grant  advantages  to  some,  on  public 


162  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

lands  reserved  for  special  use,  while  denying  them  to  others 
equally  deserving  and  desirous  of  obtaining  them.  These 
considerations  were  pressed  with  much  vigor  by  the  Hons. 
Messrs.  Bowlin,  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands, 
Vinton,  Hall,  Burt,  Cobb,  Wentworth,  and  others. 

To  one  and  all,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Sibley  replied,  single-handed, 
left,  by  the  rest  who  sided  with  him,  to  bear  the  burden  of 
the  whole  defense  of  the  bill,  confident  of  his  ability  to  answer 
every  objection.  The  substance  of  his  reply,  made  amid  suc- 
cessive interruptions,  was  as  follows:  (1)  The  territorial  legisla- 
ture of  Minnesota,  whom  Congress  must,  in  equity,  regard  as 
good  judges  in  the  case,  and  representing  the  will  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  territory,  had  memorialized  Congress  to  grant  what 
the  bill  provides;  (2)  through  the  ordeal  of  two  most  cautious, 
thorough,  and  competent  committees  of  the  senate,  that  on 
Public  Lands,  and  that  on  Territories,  the  bill  had  already 
passed;  (3)  the  senate  itself,  composed  of  the  ablest  men  in 
the  nation,  had  unanimously  agreed  to  it,  and  after  close  con- 
sultation with  the  war  department,  and  the  general  land  office, 
exercising  the  utmost  scrutiny  and  caution;  (4)  the  house's 
Committee  on  Public  Lands  had  recommended  its  passage; 
(5)  the  reservation  in  question  is  almost  wholly  unoccupied, 
only  a  few  individuals,  ten  or  twelve  at  most,  near  Fort  Snelling 
residing  thereon,  invited  and  encouraged  there  by  the  military 
officers;  (6)  the  reservation  remains  under  military  jurisdic- 
tion, an  unfavorable  circumstance  in  view  of  further  expan- 
sion of  its  settlement;  (7)  the  bill  is  of  vital  importance  to  the 
people  of  Minnesota,  for  it  legislates  for  50,000  acres  to  be 
redeemed  to  civil  jurisdiction,  and  exposed  to  public  sale,  in 
the  very  heart  of  the  choicest  lands  of  Minnesota;  (8)  the 
people  of  the  territory  desire  the  passage  of  the  bill;  (9)  the 
bill  provides  pre-emption  only  for  a  few  actual  settlers  who 
have  imjiroved  the  reservation  where  their  homestead  is,  and 
to  deprive  whom  of  the  benefit  of  their  own  labors,  taking 
from  them  land  peculiarly  their  own  and  selling  it  to  others 
for  their  higher  price,  would  be  eminently  unjust;  (10)  all 
laws,  indeed,  at  some  point,  operate  unequally,  and  the  bill 
may  i)erliaps  have  some  imperfections,  and  differ  somewhat 
from  the  bill  he  originally  drafted,  but,  in  principle  and 
(essence,  it  is  right  and  just;  (11)  the  commissioner  of  the  gen- 
eral land  office  had  written  to  him  (Mr.  Sibley)  affirming  that 
the  1)111,  as  proi)OKed,  "carries  out  the  principles  and  prac- 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  163 

tices  heretofore  observed  in  analogous  cases;"  (12)  not  more 
than  1,200  out  of  50,000  acres  will  be  pre-empted,  his  own 
homestead  included, — he  frankly  admitted, — yet  he  asked  for 
himself  no  favor  from  the  government,  but  earnestly  desired 
that  the  principles  of  natural  justice  and  of  equity  might 
prevail  in  reference  to  others  whose  pioneer  hardships  and 
toils  entitled  them  to  the  fruits  of  their  own  exertion,  and  the 
protection  of  the  government;  (13)  as  to  abolishing  Fort  Snell- 
ing,  that  was  a  question  for  the  war  department,  not  for  him; 
(14)  the  territorial  legislature  asks  that  persons,  who,  under 
the  encouragement  of  government  officers,  have  located  on 
the  reservation,  but  are  now  driven  from  the  same  by  the 
military  authorities,  may  be  protected  in  their  rights,  it 
being  a  sore  grievance  that  they  are  not;  and  (15)  desiring, 
as  he  did,  only  what  is  just  and  right,  and  the  closest  scrutiny 
and  fullest  light  to  all  upon  the  subject,  and  anxious  that  the 
bill  should  be  perfected,  if  any  serious  defect  existed,  he  now 
moved  the  reference  of  the  bill  to  the  Committee  on  Military 
Affairs. 

Comment  upon  the  reply  of  Mr.  Sibley  to  the  adversaries 
of  the  bill  is  unnecessary.  The  reply  is  self-evidently  grounded 
in  the  deepest  sentiments  of  natural  right,  and  breathes  the 
loftiest  spirit  of  a  true  humanity.  Had  the  settlers,  whose 
rights  he  sought  to  protect,  been  10,000  instead  often  or  twelve, 
the  ^'' principle''^  he  advocated  would  not  be  one  whit  aug- 
mented in  importance  by  their  number.  A  pioneer  himself, 
he  knew  the  hardship  of  a  pioneer  life,  and  his  sympathy  with 
the  pioneers  of  the  West  was  only  natural.  The  house  unani- 
mously acceded  to  his  wish,  and  the  bill  was  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Military  Affairs,  not  reappearing  until  the  fol- 
lowing Congress,  for  want  of  time. 

Warmer  still,  however,  waxed  the  discussion  the  same 
day,  when,  again,  upon  motion  of  Mr.  Sibley,  the  kindred 
senate  bill  was  taken  up,  ' '  authorizing  the  legislative  assem- 
blies of  Oregon  and  Minnesota  to  take  charge  of  the  school 
lands  in  said  territories,  and  for  other  purposes."  The  first 
section  of  the  bill  gave  authority  to  the  territorial  governors 
and  legislatures  to  lease  school  sections  16  and  36,  as  deemed 
best  for  the  object  for  which  these  sections  were  set  apart. 
The  secured  sections  granted  x)re-emption  rights  to  the  actual 
settler  on  these  sections,  unsurveyed  as  they  were.  The  third 
section  granted  a  quantity  of  land,  not  exceeding  two  town- 


164  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

ships,  for  the  purposes  of  a  university.  The  same  principle,  to 
a  certain  extent,  involved  in  the  terms  and  discussion  of  the 
preceding  bill  relative  to  the  reduction  of  the  military  reserve, 
entered  here  also,  and  elicited  the  same,  but  intenser,  op- 
position. The  debate  continued  two  successive  days,  Hon. 
Messrs.  Vinton,  Johnson,  Bowlin,  Sweetser,  Wentworth,  Burt, 
and  others  resisting,  and  Hon.  Messrs.  Sibley,  Boyd,  and  Fitch 
defending,  the  provisions  and  principles  of  the  bill. 

The  sum  of  objections,  in  substance,  made  to  the  bill  was 
(1)  that  the  granting  of  pre-emption  rights  to  actual  settlers 
on  unsurveyed  lands,  and  especially  school  lands,  was  an  inno- 
vation contrary  to  the  customary  legislation,  a  privilege  to 
"squatters"  in  violation  of  positive  law,  and  ought  not  to 
be  countenanced;  (2)  that  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  a 
^^bona  fide  settler''^  on  school  lands,  no  person  having  a  right 
either  to  go  or  to  be  there,  all  persons,  by  law,  being  inhibited 
from  occupation  of  the  same;  (3)  that  no  sufficient  reason 
existed  why  Congress  should  now  depart  from  the  law  for  the 
benefit  of  Oregon  and  Minnesota;  (4)  that  the  law  forbade  pre- 
emption in  advance  of  survey,  otherwise  men  might  select  for 
themselves  the  choicest  portions  of  the  territory,  and  deprive 
the  school  fund  of  its  just  revenue  as  well  as  of  its  land;  (5) 
that  pre-emption  rights  are  confined  exclusively  to  settlers  on 
surveyed  lands,  whereas  the  bill  is  an  infringement  of  this  en- 
actment and  wholly  at  variance  with  the  general  principles 
and  purposes  of  the  land  system;  (6)  that  the  subject  matter 
of  the  bill  had  already  been  passed  upon  and  condemned  by 
the  Committee  on  Public  Lands;  (7)  that  the  leasing  of  the 
school  sections,  so  magnificently  timbered,  would  result  in 
the  removal  of  the  timber  in  less  than  four  years,  and  nothing 
of  value  be  left  for  school  purposes;  (8)  that  no  such  legislation 
existed  in  reference  to  other  territories,  and  the  claimants  of 
pre-emption  rights,  in  regard  to  these  lands,  were  but  robbers 
of  the  fund  and  pirates  of  the  land;  (9)  that  Congress  would 
be  responsible  for  all  damage  done  to  the  school  interest,  and 
within,  or  at  the  close  of,  four  years,  the  term  of  the  lease, 
would  be  called  upon  by  the  people  of  the  territory  to  refund 
to  the  extent  of  the  injury  sustained;  and  (10)  that,  as  to 
granting  Minnesota  two  townships,  now,  as  a  territory,  and 
then  liro  more,  when  entering  the  Union  as  a  state,  ought  to 
be  resisted.     Such  the  substance  of  objection. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  165 

The  burden  of  the  whole  rejoinder  fell  again  upon  Mr.  Sib- 
ley alone.  He  was  equal  to  the  task.  He  responded  by  show- 
ing (1)  that  every  pre-emption  law  was  for  the  benefit  of  the 
settlers  on  the  public  domain,  and  had  in  view  its  speedy 
occupation,  so  promoting  the  development  of  the  country  and 
contributing  to  its  greatness  and  wealth.  The  bill  before  the 
house  embodied  no  other  principles  than  what  had  already 
been  recognized  as  just.  The  actual  settler  was  entitled, 
justly,  to  the  improvements  he  had  made  and  the  enhanced 
value  of  the  land  where  he  had  located,  and  which  he  had  en- 
riched by  his  self-denial  and  toil.  The  law  was  grounded  in 
the  principles  of  natural  right  and  that  immemorial  equity 
which  conceded  to  man  a  proprietary  claim  to  the  fruits  of  his 
own  labor.  It  was,  moreover,  the  one  encouragement  given 
to  induce  men  to  encounter  the  hardships  of  a  pioneer  life; 

(2)  that  "there  is  no  reason  why  men  who  have,  accidentally, 
become  the  occupants  of  what  proves  subsequently  to  be  a  school 
section  should  not  be  jjrotected  in  the  same  manner.  If  they 
are  not  allowed  the  same  rights  as  otho-  bona  fide  settlers,  a 
great  wrong  will  be  perpetrated  upon  them,  and  no  man  would 
feel  safe  in  bestowing  his  labor  on  any  unsurveyed  land 
through  fear  of  finding  himself  on  a  school  section,  and  being 
deprived  thereby  of  his  improvements  and  his  homestead,"^ 

(3)  that  the  whole  matter  in  question  ' '  affects  only  the  school 
funds,  and  that,  if  the  people  of  the  territory  were  willing  to 
grant  pre-emption  rights  to  those  who  had  unknowingly  set- 
tled on  school  lands,  it  seemed  to  him  that  they  were  the  pro- 
per judges  in  the  case."  Were  the  bill  inherently  wrong,  or 
against  the  popular  will,  he  would  never  be  found  its  advocate 
here.  But  the  legislative  assembly  of  Minnesota  had  memo- 
rialized Congress  to  enact  substantially  the  provisions  it  con- 
tained. Moreover,  he  argued,  no  injustice  could  be  done; 
none  to  the  territory;  none  to  the  school  fund.  By  common 
usage  of  the  country,  and  in  an  interest  of  immense  value  to 
the  country,  every  man  who  settled  upon  and  improved  the 
unoccupied  public  domain,  eveti  though  unsurveyed,  was  secured 
in  his  right  to  purchase  the  land  at  the  minimum  government 
price,  when  put  on  the  market.  And  it  was  but  right  it 
should  be  so,  unless  all  encouragement  to  the  noble  race  of 
hardy  pioneers  should  be  forever  withdrawn.  Even  conced- 
ing that  ^^no  existing  law''^  expressly  legislates  pre-emption  to 

1  Globe,  Vol.  23,  p.  435. 


166  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

settlers  on  unsurveyed  lands,  yet  it  is  well  known  that  ' '  every 
man  who  settled  on  the  unsurveyed  lands  had  virtually  a  pre- 
emption. No  man  dare  disjyute  his  right;  "  (4)  that,  yet  further, 
so  far  from  the  bill  being  obnoxious  to  the  charge  of  innova- 
tion, and  unparalleled  in  the  legislation  for  other  territories, 
"the  first  and  third  sections  of  the  bill  were  copied,  nearly 
verbatim,  from  similar  bills  relating  to  the  territories  of  Michi- 
gan and  Wisconsin,"  and  the  second  section  of  the  bill  was 
also  nearly  an  exact  cox)y  of  a  law  passed  authorizing  the  set- 
tlement of  certain  school  lands  in  Florida,  Iowa,  and  Wis- 
consin." True,  indeed,  the  legislation  as  to  Florida,  Iowa, 
Wisconsin,  and  Michigan  territories  had  reference  to  French 
and  Spanish  land  grants,  and  none  such  existed  in  Minnesota. 
But  the  '■'principle  involved''^  is  precisely  the  same.  All  the 
occupants  were  settlers  on  unsurveyed  lands.  And  pre-emption  was 
granted  to  all.  The  principle  was  "exactly  embodied  in  the 
act  read  by  the  clerk,  in  the  law  passed  in  1844."  He  could 
not  see  why  persons  living  on  other  sections  of  unsurveyed 
lands  should  be  entitled  any  more  than  the  man  who  had  ^«j9- 
pened  to  be  situated  on  the  sixteenth  and  thirty-sixth  sections; 
(5)  that,  as  to  the  fear  expressed  by  the  gentleman  (Bowlin) 
that  the  "/mse"  of  the  school  sections  would  deprive  the 
school  fund  of  its  just  revenue,  he  thought  that  "the  gentle- 
man could  have  but  little  confidence  in  the  legislative  assembly 
of  Minnesota,  to  suppose  that  the  public  school  lands  in  that 
territory  were  not  as  safe  under  the  care  of  the  territorial  au- 
thorities as  in  the  keeping  of  the  gentleman  himself  or  of  the 
general  government. ' '  He  could  ' '  tell  the  gentleman  that  there 
is  not  a  man  in  Minnesota  who  is  not  most  anxious,  and  who 
would  not  strain  every  nerve,  to  preserve  the  public  lands  set 
apart  for  school  purposes  from  deterioration,  and  the  people, 
he  believed,  were  perfectly  willing  to  confide  this  trust  to  the 
territorial  legislature."^  So  much  for  the  second  section  of 
the  bill.  In  further  support  of  what  he  had  said  in  reference 
to  the  first  section  of  the  bill,  he  read  the  act  of  Congress  giving 
to  the  legislative  council  of  the  Territory  of  Michigan  the 
charge  of  the  school  lands  there,  and  renewed  his  assertion 
that  tlie  first  section  of  the  bill  before  the  house  was  "an  exact 
transcript  of  the  clause  he  had  just  i-ead."  And  as  to  the 
third  section  of  the  bill  before  the  house,  that  pertaining  to 
the  university,  he  read  the  act  of  Congress  relating  to  Wiscon- 

1  Globe,  Vol.  23,  p.  443. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  167 

sin  Territory,  showing  that  the  third  section  of  the  bill  was 
"an  exact  copy  of  that  act."  And  in  reference  to  the  whole 
bill,  he  repeated  his  affirmation  that  its  principles  were  "iden- 
tical with  laws  already  passed  in  relation  to  the  territories." 

Having  thus  replied,  and  most  successfully,  as  every  im- 
partial judge  must  admit,  to  the  objections  of  his  combined 
adversaries,  and  supported  his  defense  of  the  bill  by  principles 
of  natural  justice,  by  the  spirit  and  the  essence  of  the  law  of 
pre-emption  itself,  by  legal  enactment,  by  historic  precedent, 
and  by  public  opinion,  Mr.  Sibley  addressed  himself,  for  a 
moment  or  two,  to  the  pleasing  task  of  paying  his  parliamen- 
tary respects  to  the  Hon.  Mr.  Bowlin,  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Public  Lands.  In  the  most  emphatic  manner,  he 
challenged  the  verity  of  Mr.  Bowlin's  statement  that  the  Com- 
mittee on  Public  Lands  had  passed  upon  and  condemned,  in 
advance,  the  particular  provisions  of  the  bill.  Alluding  to 
Mr.  Bowlin's  indirect  imputation  that  the  early  settlers  of 
Minnesota  had  gained  their  lands  dishonestly,  and  now  seek 
legislation  in  favor  of  men  who  violate  law,  he  replied:  "I 
do  not  know  what  the  gentleman  might  intend  to  convey  by 
such  remarks,  but  it  was  evident  that  he  was  totally  ignorant 
of  what  material  the  ijopulation  of  the  Territory  of  Minne- 
sota was  composed.  The  hostility  the  gentleman  had  shown 
throughout  to  every  measure  that  had  been  proposed  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  was  not  very  character- 
istic of  the  magnanimity  he  had  the  reputation  of  manifesting 
when  the  interests  of  his  own  section  are  at  stake.  Minnesota 
did  not  ask  for  more  than  she  was  strictly  and  justly  entitled 
to,  and  he  hoped  that  what  she  had  the  right  to  would  not  be 
withheld  from  her.  She  did  not  expect  to  receive  more  bene- 
fits or  privileges  than  other  portions  of  the  Union,  but  she 
did  expect  equal  justice.  I  am  not  conscious  that  any  state- 
ment I  have  made  could  have  rendered  Minnesota  liable  to 
such  a  charge  as  seemed  to  be  implied  by  the  gentleman  from 
Missouri.  I  hope  that  gentleman  will  be  able  to  exj^lain  this 
matter  in  a  way  which  shall  not  carry  with  it  any  such  impu- 
tation as  that  which  might  be  inferred."^ 

A  portion  of  the  debate,  especially  February  6,  1857,  was 
very  exciting,  and,  in  some  respects,  betrayed  the  bitterness 
of  party  spirit  that  seemed,  at  times,  to  array  itself  against 
both  Minnesota  and  her  delegate.     When  the  second  section 

1  Globe,  Vol.  23,  p.  444. 


168  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

of  the  bill  was  under  discussion,  viz.,  the  section  authorizing- 
pre-emption  rights  to  bo7ia  fide  settlers  on  the  school  lands, 
Mr.  Sibley  had  said  that  although  no  existing  law  granted  pre- 
emption to  settlers  on unsurveyed lands,  yet  ''every  man  who 
settled  on  the  unsurveyed  lands  had  virtually  a  pie-emption. 
No  man  dare  dispute  his  right." 

Mk.  Stevens  of  Pennsylvania  "  would  like  to  ask  the  gen- 
tleman why  they  dare  not  do  it?  Was  there  any  law  that  pro- 
hibited it?" 

Mr.  Sibley  said  that  "there  was  no  law  of  the  United 
States,  but  there  was  a  '  higher  law '  (great  laughter),  and  that 
was  the  settler's  'higher  law'  of  the  West,  in  all  matters  that 
involved  the  homestead  and  dearest  rights  of  men.  And,  as 
such,  it  was  recognized  by  Congress  when,  from  time  to  time, 
laws  were  passed  by  that  body,  to  effect  the  same  object,  by 
granting  pre-emption  rights  to  actual  occupants  of  the  soil.  " 

Mr.  Wentworth:  "When  a  man  squats  upon  the  school 
lands  there  is  a  'higher  law'  that  takes  him  oif.  So  far  as  I 
am  concerned,  whenever  a  territorial  bill  comes  up  here,  con- 
taining a  provision  in  relation  to  school  lands  similar  to  that 
contained  in  this,  I  shall  feel  compelled  to  oppose  it.  I  would 
leave  the  matter  to  the  townships.  If  the  townships  are  organ- 
ized and  choose  to  let  men  squat  on  their  school  lands,  it  is 
their  business,  not  the  business  of  Congress."  This  was  a 
stroke  at  the  third  section  of  the  bill,  that  is,  in  relation  to  the 
university,  in  reply  to  Mr.  Bowlin's  attempt  to  distort  the 
meaning  of  Mr.  Sibley's  words  in  reference  to  a  "higher  law.'^ 

Mr.  Sibley  said  he  believed  "the  gentleman  knew  very 
well  what  he  (Mr.  Sibley)  referred  to,  in  the  remark  that  he 
made,  in  reference  to  a  'higher  law.'  He  referred  to  a  usage, 
of  no  more  common  occurrence  in  Minnesota  than  in  any  other 
Western  state  or  territory.  And  that  usage  was  that  the  man 
who  had  first  gone  forward  and  settled  unoccupied  lands,  who 
had  been,  as  it  were,  the  pioneer  of  civilization,  should  be 
protected  from  being  turned  off  the  soil  that  he  had  settled 
and  reclaimed.  There  was  no  other  'higher  law'  in  Minne- 
sota than  that. " 

Mr.  Fitch  (supporting  Mr.  Sibley)  replied  to  certain  ob- 
jections. "It  is  true  that  the  bill  legalizes  pre-emption  to 
public  lands  prior  to  survey,  but  that  is  no  hardship.  To  my 
certain  knowledge,  those  pre-emptions  have  been  recognized, 
if  not  by  positive  legal  provisions,  at  least  by  the  settlers 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  169 

themselves,  almost  from  time  immemorial.  The  objection  to 
leasing  the  school  lands,  on  the  ground  that  the  value  would 
be  diminished  by  loss  of  timber,  is  vain.  It  assumes  that  all 
the  school  sections  are  timbered  sections;  that  the  delegates 
from  Oregon  and  Minnesota,  the  legislatures,  and  the  people, 
have  conspired  to  rob  their  own  constituencies,  and  defraud 
their  own  institutions;  and  that  the  people  of  the  territory  are 
not  as  good  guardians  of  their  own  interests  as  the  Committee 
on  Public  Lands.  On  the  contrary,  by  the  lease  of  the  lands, 
their  cultivation  will  be  rendered  certain,  their  value  en- 
hanced, and  the  school  fund  increased." 

Mr.  Stevens  moved  to  strike  out  the  word  "Minnesota." 
"I  make,"  said  he,  ''this  motion  for  the  purpose  of  destroy- 
ing the  section.  Any  man  who  squats  upon  the  public  land 
before  it  is  surveyed  is  entitled  to  no  pre-emption  rights.  He 
is  a  tresspasser,  a  wrongdoer.  The  bill  proposes  to  give  the 
wrongdoer  a  right  to  take  possession  of  lands  devoted  to  a 
sacred  charity, — if  I  may  call  it  'charity,' — for  school  pur- 
poses. I  believe  there  is  no  law  which  gives  a  right  of  iDre- 
emption  to  settlers  on  unsurveyed  lands.  I  may,  however,  be 
wrong  in  this." 

Mr.  Fitch:     "You  are  decidedly  wrong." 

Mr.  Stevens:  "I  am  informed  by  the  gentleman  behind 
me  that  there  is  no  law  which  gives  pre-emption  rights  to  set- 
tlers on  unsurveyed  lands,  but  the  'higher  law,' — which  the 
gentleman  from  Minnesota  speaks  of, — the  law  of  the  boivie- 
knife.  Now,  I  think  we  ought  not  to  recognize  tJmt  kind  of 
a  higher  law  at  any  rate.  If  we  are  to  recognize  a  '  higher 
law'  above,  we  are  not  to  recognize,  at  any  rate,  a  'higher 
law'  below.  I  cannot  go  for  that.  I  hope  the  whole  bill  will 
be  killed." 

Mr.  Sibley  said  that  the  "higher  law"  to  which  he  re- 
ferred was  not  any  law  of  violence,  nor  that  of  the  "bowie- 
knife,"  as  stated  by  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania,  nor  a 
law  from  "below,"  but  the  law  of  public  opinion,  of  public 
sentiment;  a  higher  law  which  he  believed  existed  elsewhere 
than  in  Minnesota.  This  public  opinion  was,  if  he  might  so 
term  it.  Omnipotent,  and  any  enacted  law  affecting  the  rights 
of  person  or  property,  antagonistic  to  it,  would  always  prove 
a  dead  letter.  This  public  opinion  in  the  West  was  in  favor 
of  granting  to  the  settler  on  unoccupied,  and  even  unsurveyed, 
land  the  full  benefit  accruing  from  the  bestowal  of  the  soil  he 


170  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

had  improved.  "The  gentleman  has  asserted  that  we  have  no 
right  to  protect  a  wrongdoer,  and  that  government  ought  not 
to  protect  settlers  on  unsurveyed  lands  who  have  no  business 
there.  But  the  settlement  of  the  greater  portion  of  our  Western 
country,  and  the  mighty  advancement  of  that  region  in  loealth,  popu- 
lation, and  power,  had  all  been  the  result  of  the  encouragement 
given  by  the  government  to  settlers  on  unsurveyed  lands,  by  the  pas- 
sage of  pre-emption  laws  from  time  to  time.^^ 

Such,  however,  was  the  political  passion  of  the  hour,  that, 
notwithstanding  the  unanswerable  argument  of  Mr.  Sibley, 
and  the  prestige  of  the  passage  of  the  bill  by  the  senate,  none 
opposing,  and  its  recommendation  by  the  senate's  Committees 
on  Public  Lands  and  Territories,  and  by  the  house's  Commit- 
tee on  Territories,  yet  the  motion  of  Mr.  Stevens  to  strike  out 
"Minnesota"  from  section  3,  and  of  Mr.  Yiuton  to  strike  out 
"pre-emption"  from  section  2,  and  of  Mr.  Bowlin  to  strike 
out  "lease"  from  section  1,  prevailed.  The  bill  did,  indeed, 
seem  mortally  wounded,  in  fact  "killed."  By  subsequent 
effort,  however,  it  revived,  and,  reduced  to  two  sections,  the 
first  authorizing  the  territorial  governors  and  legislatures  to 
^^protecV  the  school  sections,  the  second  setting  apart  ^Hwo 
townships''''  for  the  university,  was  passed  by  the  house,  Febru- 
ary 6,  1851,  the  senate  concurring  therein  February  15,  1851. 
Congress  thus,  by  a  self- contradictory  act,  denied  pre-emption 
to  settlers  on  unsurveyed  lands,  and  withheld  authority  from 
the  legislatures  and  governors  to  lease  the  school  sections. 
Had  the  senate  refused  to  concur  in  the  house  amendments, 
all  had  been  lost.  Plainly,  party  passion  ruled  the  house. 
The  situation  could  not  be  accounted  for  by  the  supposition 
that  a  few  individuals  might  reap  a  benefit  not  enjoyed  by 
others,  for  others  were  not  entitled  to  enjoy  it,  not  being  pio- 
neers. Nor  was  it  that  the  bill  was  seriously  obnoxious  to 
valid  criticism.  The  principle  it  advocated  was  a  just  one, 
sanctioned  not  only  by  natural  right,  but  even  by  divine  prece- 
dent, which  not  only  asserts  that  "the  laborer  is  worthy  of 
his  reward,"  but  even  exalts  the  law  of  nature  and  necessity 
above  any  human  legislation  adverse  thereto.  A  king  of 
Israel  ate  shewbread  "not  lawful"  for  any  but  the  priests  to 
eat;  and  a  greater  than  the  son  of  Jesse  "plucked  ears  of  f 
corn"  on  the  Sabbath,  not  his  own  by  statute  but  by  natural 
l)rescription.  All  things  exist  for  the  benefit  of  man,  and  not 
mail  for  the  benefit  of  them.  Institutions  are  made  for  men, 
and  not  men  for  institutions.     Lands,  governments,  and  laws 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  171 

must  be  subjected  to  this  one  eternal  rule,  or  laid  waste,  and 
overthrown.  The  rights  of  man,  as  man,  are  the  rights  of 
nature,  and  all  enactment  must  be  subordinate  thereto.  And 
this  is  a  divine  enactment  voiced  through  all  the  changes  of 
history,  and  revolutions  of  empires  and  states,  in  a  universal 
"public  opinion"  which  is  only  another  name  for  a  "higher 
law,"  and,  contrary  to  which,  congresses  and  parliaments  may 
not  run  except  upon  pain  of  incurring  judgment  as  just  as  it 
will  be  severe.  Mr.  Sibley  was  clearly  in  the  right.  Had 
even  adverse  legislation  prohibited  pre-emption  to  van-cou- 
riers of  the  nation's  wide-expanding  civilization,  yet  the 
rights  of  natural  justice  voiced  in  the  universal  conscience  of 
man  are  ever  superior  to  any  positive  statutes  conflicting  with 
the  same.  The  law  of  moral  righteousness  is  one  to  which 
all  governments  must  submit,  repealing  whatever  resists  the 
same,  or  go  out  extinguished  in  blood.  The  best  engraved 
political  right  carved  in  the  text  of  the  Constitution  itself,  if 
adverse  to  it,  is  powerless  before  it.  The  greatest  of  Roman 
orators,  Cicero,  a  statesman  and  philosopher  as  well,  less 
Pagan  than  some  who  aspire  to  the  Christian  name,  main- 
tained that  the  '■''common  sense  of  mankind,^'  '■'■  communis  sensus 
hominum,^^  is  a  law  imperial  and  indestructible,  not  one  thing 
at  Athens,  another  at  Rome,  but  constant  everywhere,  a  voice 
infallible,  supreme,  and  always  the  same.  By  virtue  of  that, 
the  Bastile  was  overthrown  by  a  French  mob.  On  that  ground 
the  Gracchi  won  for  themselves  a  name,  and  Socrates  drank 
the  hemlock  regardless  of  death.  On  that  same  ground,  Mr. 
Stevens  himself,  his  friends,  and  the  whole  party  of  freedom 
in  the  North,  with  an  inconsistency  most  glaring,  while  deny- 
ing pre-emption  rights  to  the  pioneer  whose  toil  had  enriched 
the  public  domain,  resisted  the  execution  of  the  "Fugitive 
Slave  Law"  which  ran  counter  to  "public  opinion,"  though 
armed   with  constitutional  enactment.^     Clearly  the  house 

1  Nble. —  So  Mr.  Giddings,  December  2, 1850,  opposing  the  "Fugitive  Slave  Law,"  said 
frankly  :  "Sir,  I  will  say  to  the  president,  with  all  kindness,  but  with  unhesitating  confi- 
dence, that  our  peop/e  will  never  submit  to  be  compelled  to  lend  aid  or  assistance  in  executing 
that  infamous  law;  nor  will  they  obey  it.  The  president  should  have  learned,  ere  this,  that 
public  opinion,  with  an  enlightened  and  patriotic  people,  is  stronger  than  armies  and  navies, 
and  that  he  himself  is  but  the  creature  of  the  people's  will.  Nor  is  this  doctrine  new.  In 
every  state  of  the  Union  statutes  have  been  enacted  which  never  have  been  and  never  could 
be  enforced,  but  remained  a  dead  letter,  so  opposed  were  they  to  the  public  sense  of  justice  and  pro- 
priety."— Globe,  Vol.  23,  Appendix,  p.  254.  Such  was  the  "  higher  law,"  good  for  Messrs.  Gid- 
dings, Stevens,  and  Vinton, in  regard  to  the  "Fugitive  Slave  Bill,"  but  bad  for  Mr.  Sibley  in 
regard  to  the  " Pre-emption  Minnesota  Bill!"  The  fact  is  that  the  doctrine  of  a  "higher 
law"  was  the  doctrine  of  both  North  and  South,  of  Calhoun  as  well  as  of  Sumner,  a  univer- 
sal law,  the  Roman  "jtis primum,"  underlying  all  society,  a  law  grounded  in  the  moral  con- 
stitution of  mankind,  the  final  corner  stone  of  states  and  nations. 


172  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

resistance  to  pre-emption  was  the  result  of  a  passing  preju- 
dice. As  a  matter  of  fact,  pre-emption  in  advance  of  survey 
had  already  been  previously  legislated  in  effect,  and  prac- 
tically recognized,  as  had  also  the  power  of  territorial  officers 
and  legislatures  to  lease  the  school  lands.  The  right,  also,  of 
the  '' Squatters,"  as  they  were  called,  in  the  technics  of  the 
times,  to  determine  their  own  institutions  was  undeniable, 
under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  neutral  enough 
and  liberal  enough  as  it  is,  to  let  in  all  manner  of  Paganism 
and  Barbarism,  under  the  national  flag,  provided  only  it  comes 
in  a  republican  way,  as  Mormonism  did,  and  knocked  at  the 
door  of  Congress  with  a  meek  petition  in  its  hand.  Douglas' 
doctrine  of  what  was  called  "Squatter  Sovereignty,"  though 
disrelished  by  Free  Soilers,  on  the  one  side,  as  not  positively 
excluding  slavery  from  the  territories,  and  equally  distasteful 
to  secessionists,  on  the  other  side,  as  not  positively  including 
it,  was,  nevertheless,  a  true  doctrine  under  the  Constitution. 
Clearly,  had  the  constituency  of  Mr.  Sibley  —  the  Minneso- 
tians — been  of  the  creed  of  New  Mexico  or  California,  Went- 
worth  and  Stevens  had  not  resisted  the  grant  of  pre-emption 
already  accorded  to  like  situated  settlers  in  Iowa  and  Wiscon- 
sin; and  had  they  been  of  the  creed  of  the  Texans  or  Missou- 
rians,  Bowlin  and  Burt  had  not  objected  to  what,  in  principle, 
had  already  been  conceded  to  Florida  and  Michigan.  But, 
being  pioneers,  and  mostly  of  the  Douglas  creed,  the  opposi- 
tion came  from  both  sides  of  the  house,  and  was  persisted  in, 
even  after  its  mouth  had  been  silenced  by  the  unanswerable 
argument  of  Mr.  Sibley.  And  it  will  remain  a  mystery,  one  of 
those  phenomena  which  sometimes  startle  us,  in  history,  that 
the  representatives  of  the  great  State  of  Ohio,  first  born  of 
the  ordinance  of  1787,  and  so  consecrated  to  freedom,  should 
ever  have  been  found,  like  Vinton,  Schenck,  Giddings,  and 
Boot,  resisting  and  opposing  the  delegate  from  Minnesota,  a 
territory  secured  to  freedom  not  only  by  the  same  ordinance, 
but  by  the  Missouri  line,  and  moreover  by  climatic  law.  The 
fact  abides.  No  answer  to  Mr.  Sibley's  reply  was  ever  at- 
tempted. Wliat  he  was  enabled  to  effect  was  the  grant  of 
authority  to  tlie  t<!rritorial  legislature  to  "protect"  the  school 
lands,  and  the  donation  of  "two  townships"  of  land  for  the 
use  and  support  of  a  university.  And  throughout  the  whole 
debate,  he  stood  aloft,  in  Congress,  as  the  foremost  champion 
of  the  riglits  of  the  pioneer,  as  already  lie  had  been  of  the 
rights  of  the  injured  and  insulted  red  ninn. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  173 

The  remaining  subject  that  called  forth  another  speech  of 
Mr.  Sibley,  as  the  second  session  of  the  Thirty-first  Congress 
drew  near  its  close,  was  the  debate  on  the  "Indian  Appro- 
priation Bill."  This  occurred  February  20,  1857.  At  the 
special  request  of  many  representatives,  he  spoke,  in  general, 
upon  the  Indian  question,  and  particularly  with  reference  to 
certain  provisions  of  the  bill  looking  to,  and  legislating,  the 
reorganization  of  the  Indian  department.  He  adverted  to  the 
increased  responsibility  of  the  nation  toward  the  Indians  since 
the  territorial  acquisitions  of  Oregon,  California,  and  New 
Mexico,  commending  highly  the  abandonment  of  Indian  "sub- 
agents,"  and  employment  of  only  "full  agents,"  men  of  educa- 
tion, accomplishment,  and  sterling  moral  principle;  and  not 
characters  whose  main  business  was  to  secure  the  signature 
of  an  Indian  chief  to  a  treaty,  then  disregard  its  solemn  stipu- 
lations, and  anxious,  more  than  all,  to  enjoy  for  themselves, 
and  send  home  to  the  Indian  office,  "a  large  supply  of  cham- 
pagne, sardines,  and  other  good  things."  No  wiser  words  ever 
fell  from  the  lips  of  any  representative  than  fell  from  his, 
when  referring,  in  his  speech,  to  the  actual  condition  of  the 
Indian,  he  said: 

"That  condition  is  a  very  wretched  one.  This  government  still  forbears 
to  adopt  a  course  with  regard  to  these  miserable  dependents,  which  a  due 
respect  for  its  own  honor  and  character,  and  the  promptings  of  a  wise  and 
enlightened  humanity,  would  dictate.  If,  in  place  of  expending  millions 
upon  millions  in  keeping  up  a  large  military  force  to  hunt  the  Indians  with 
swords  and  bayonets,  as  is  now  the  case  in  Texas  and  New  Mexico,  the  gov- 
ernment would  place  in  the  hands  of  the  commissioner  of  Indian  affairs  — 
to  be  applied  to  feeding,  clothing,  and  educating,  the  remaining  tribes — one- 
fifth  of  the  sum  now  required  for  the  support  of  an  army,  it  would  soon  be 
found  necessary  to  employ  no  force  at  all.  The  result  would  prove  that 
these  beings  are  actuated  by  the  same  motives  as  are  other  men,  and  that 
when  this  government  ceases  to  regard  and  treat  them  as  outcasts  and  ene- 
mies, they  will  be  grateful  for  and  appreciate  its  motives.  To  test  the  sense 
of  the  house  on  this  subject  he  (Mr.  Sibley)  would  endeavor  to  gain  the 
floor  before  the  adjournment,  with  a  view  of  moving  that  the  bill  presented 
by  him,  at  the  beginning  of  the  session,  '  for  promoting  the  civilization  of 
the  Indian  tribes  in  Minnesota  Territory,'  be  taken  up  and  put  upon  its 
passage.  If  Congress  shall  pass  such  measures  as  it  proposes,  the  time  will 
speedily  arrive  when  this  government  may  safely  dispense  with  any  display 
of  military  force  on  the  border  to  protect  it  from  savage  aggressions,  for, 
under  its  operation,  the  Indian  himself  will  be  as  prompt  to  uphold  and 
sustain  the  majesty  of  those  laws  which  extend  to  him  civil  and  political 
rights  as  are  other  citizens.  "^ 

1  Globe,  Vol.  23,  p.  619. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  THIRTY-SECOND  CONGRESS,  FIRST  SESSION,  1852. —  MB.  SIBLEY  AGAIN 
RETURNED  TO  CONGRESS  BY  A  CONSTITUENCY  COMPOSED  OF  ALL  PAR- 
TIES.—  GREAT  NATIONAL  AGITATION. —  THE  "COMPROMISE  MEASURE." 

—  DISRUPTION  OF  POLITICAL  PARTIES. —  COMPOSITION  OF  CONGRESS  — 
CRIMINATION. —  RECRIMINATION. —  MR.  SIBLEY'S  POLICY. —  REASON  OF 
THIS. —  HIS  "AMERICAN  HOUSE  LETTER." — HIS  ADDRESS  TO  HIS  CON- 
STITUENTS.—  DEVOTES  HIMSELF  TO  THE  INTERESTS  OF  MINNESOTA. — 
SPECIAL  BILLS  INTRODUCED. —  PETITIONS. —  MEMORIALS.  —  INCESSANT 
LABORS.  —  APPROPRIATIONS  SECURED  FOR  MINNESOTA,  BY  HIS  UN- 
WEARIED DILIGENCE,  AND  INFLUENCE;  IN  ALL  ONE  HUNDRED  AND 
FORTY  THOUSAND  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  SEVENTY-THREE  DOLLARS  AND 
FORTY-THREE  CENTS,  UP  TO  DATE.  —  ONE  OF  THE  MOST  EFFECTIVE 
DEBATERS  ON  THE  FLOOR  OF  THE  HOUSE. —  POSITION  AS  TO  THE  SALA- 
RIES OF  TERRITORIAL  OFFICERS. —  UTAH  AND  BRIGHAM  YOUNG. — 
VINDICATES  THE  RIGHTS  OF  MINNESOTA. — CONSTITUTIONAL  QUESTIONS. 

—  HIS   SPEECH  ON   EXECUTIVE  CONTROL  OVER  TERRITORIAL  OFFICERS. 

—  CARRIES  HIS  POINT  IN  THE  HOUSE. —  THE  SENATE  CONCURS. — DE- 
FENSE OF  THE  HOMESTEAD  BILL. —  ASSAILS  THE  POLICY  OF  THE  GOV- 
ERNMENT.—  RESUME  OF  HIS  POWERFUL  ARGUMENT. —  IMITATES  CHAT- 
HAM.—  EULOGY  UPON  THE  PIONEERS. —  PROPHETIC  UTTERANCES. — 
man's  RIGHT  TO  THE  SOIL  AS  WELL  AS  TO  THE  SUNLIGHT. — THE  CITI- 
ZEN'S RIGHT  TO  A  HOME. —  RESISTS  THE  ILL-ADVISED  BILL  FOR  THE 
INDIGENT  INSANE. —  AGAIN  PROTECTS  THE  LANDS  OF  MINNESOTA  AND 
THE  RIGHTS  OF  THE  SETTLERS. —  RESUME  OF  HIS  ARGUMENT.  —  FINE 
PERORATION.  —  THE  BILL  DEFEATED.  —  MAY  21,  1852,  A  GREAT  "  FIELD- 
DAY." —  FIVE  MINNESOTA  ROADS  IN  DANGER.  —  APPROPRIATIONS  IN 
PERIL. —  INTENSE  OPPOSITION.  —  INTENSE  REPLY.  —  THE  BATTLE  AS 
TO   CONGRESS,     THE     CONSTITUTION,    AND   INTERNAL    IMPROVEMENTS. 

—  MR.  SIBLEY,  SINGLE-HANDED,  BEARS  THE  BRUNT  OF  THE  ONSET. — 
A  TRUE  JEFFERSONIAN. —  RESUME  OF  HIS  ARGUMENT. —  FINAL  CON- 
FLICT, JUNE  8,  1852. —  DESPERATE  STRUGGLE. — MR  SIBLEY  MOVES 
THE  "  PREVIOUS  QUESTION."  —  VICTORIOUS  BY  TWO  MAJORITY! — MIN- 
NESOTA'S FIVE  ROADS  saved!  — SENATE  CONCURS. —  HIS  AMENDMENT 
TO  THE  INDIAN  APPROPRIATION  BILL. — OPPOSITION. —  REPLY. —  ELO- 
QUENT APPEAL  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  "STARVING  INDIANS." — BASE 
ACTION  OF  CONGRESS. —  COMPLIMENT  BY  JOSHUA  R.  GIDDINGS. —  NOBLE 
SUPPORT   FROM   MR.    VENABLE. —  ETERNAL   DISGRACE. 

THE  THIRTY-SECOND  CONGRESS,  SECOND  SESSION,  1852-53. —  COMPOSITION 
OF  CONfJRESS. —  SLAVERY  EXCITEMENT.  —  FUGITIVE  SLAVE  LAW  A 
FINALITY. —  MR.  SIBLEY  STILL  AVOIDS  COLLISION  AND  DEVOTES  HIS 
KNKROIES  TO  MINNESOTA  INTERESTS. —  NEW  ]$ILLS  INTRODUCED  FOR 
TJIEBENEKITOFMINNESOTA.— RAILROAD  BILL.— MILITARY  POST  AT  ST. 
JOSEPH. —  KXTINGUISIIINO  OF  INDIAN  TITLES.  —  FURTHER  APPROPRI- 
ATIONS FOE  PUBLIC  BUILDINGS. —  SUPPORT  OF  SCHOOLS  IN  FRACTIONAL 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  175 

TOWNSHIPS.  —  THE  INDIGENT  INSANE. —  APPROPRIATION  FOR  SURVEYS, 
CONSTRUCTION  OF  ROADS,  SALARIES  OF  TERRITORIAL  OFFICERS,  TER- 
RITORIAL LEGISLATURE,  CONTINGENT  EXPENSES;  TOTAL  ONE  HUN- 
DRED AND  FORTY-FIVE  THOUSAND  FIVE  HUNDRED  DOLLARS. —  GRAND 
TOTAL  OF  APPROPRIATIONS  DURING  3IR.  SIBLEY'S  CONTINUANCE  IN 
CONGRESS,  TWO  HUNDRED  AND  EIGHTY-FIVE  THOUSAND  SIX  HUNDRED 
AND  SEVENTY-THREE  DOLLARS  AND  FORTY-THREE  CENTS. —  PROJECT 
OF  A  GRAND  NATIONAL  RAILROAD,  CONCEIVED  BY  MR.  SIBLEY,  FROM 
THE  GULF  OF  MEXICO  TO  THE  BRITISH  LINE  AT  PEMBINA. —  RESUME 
OF  MR.  SIBLEY'S  ARGUMENT.  —  HIS  COMPREHENSIVE  VIEWS. — GLANCE 
INTO  THE  FUTURE. —  PERORATION.  —  LAST  APPEAL  BY  MR.  SIBLEY  FOR 
A  RAILROAD  FROM  THE  RAPIDS  OF  ST.  LOUIS  RIVER,  LAKE  SUPERIOR, 
TO  ST.  PAUL. — CONCLUDING  REMARKS  AS  TO  HIS  CONGRESSIONAL 
CAREER. —  HIS  CHARACTER  AS  A  STATESMAN. —  HIS  PERSONAL  RELA- 
TION TO  THE  WHOLE  BASIS  AND  SUPERSTRUCTURE  OF  THE  TERRITORY 
AND  STATE  OF  MINNESOTA. —  "  PRIMUS  INTER  PARES." —  MINNESOTA'S 
OBLIGATIONS  TO  HER  FAITHFUL  SERVANT. 

The  thirty-second  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  to 
which  the  Hon,  Mr.  Sibley  was  again  returned,  with  enthu- 
siasm, by  a  large  vote  from  persons  of  all  political  parties,  con- 
vened December  1 ,  1851,  and  closed  its  first  session  August  31, 
1852.  The  country  was  still  convulsed  with  the  throes  of  the 
anti-slavery  agitation,  an  excitement  intensified  by  the  passage 
of  the  celebrated  ''Compromise  Bill,"  during  the  previous 
session,  which  admitted  California  as  a  state  without  slavery, 
the  territories  of  Utah  and  New  Mexico  without  the  Wilmot 
proviso,  fixed  the  western  boundary  of  Texas,  giving  to  Texas 
a  large  sum  for  the  surrender  of  her  claim  to  jurisdiction  over 
New  Mexico,  declined  to  abolish  slavery  in  the  District  of  Col- 
umbia, though  abolishing  the  slave  trade  in  the  same,  and 
enacted  special  legislation  for  the  more  vigorous  enforcement 
of  the  fugitive  slave  law.  The  supreme  efforts  of  Webster  and 
Clay  were  powerless  to  allay  the  storm  the  passage  of  the  com- 
promise aroused.  Moral  principles  began  to  insist  on  their 
recognition  as  living  factors  paramount  to  all  positive  legisla- 
tion,  and  to  demand  the  repeal  of  enactments  at  variance  there- 
with, although  supported  by  the  text  of  the  Constitution  and 
the  terms  of  union.  On  the  one  hand,  stood  the  opening 
clause  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence;  on  the  other  the 
right  of  the  master  to  the  rendition  of  the  fugitive,  inscribed 
in  the  Constitution  itself,  the  organic  law  of  the  land,  and  now 
sought  to  be  enforced  by  federal  power  according  to  compact 
between  the  states.  It  was  a  polar  antagonism  between  ethics 
and  politics,  two  opposing  forms  of  civilization,  struggling 


176  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

each  to  secure  the  preponderance  of  power  in  the  nation  for 
coming  time.  Conventions  were  held  everywhere  in  the  North, 
and  petitions  prepared  for  Congress  fjraying  for  the  repeal  of 
the  fugitive  slave  law.  To  promote  such  movements  Seward 
and  Chase  gave  all  their  influence.  Breaks  began  to  be  made 
in  the  ranks  of  both  the  great  national  parties.  Of  82  Demo- 
crats who  voted  for  the  fugitive  slave  law,  28  were  from  the 
North,  and  of  these  but  12  were  returned  to  the  Thirty -second 
Congress.  Of  76  Whigs  from  the  North,  only  3  voted  for  the 
law,  and,  of  these,  but  1  was  returned.  Of  32  Whig  represen- 
tatives from  the  State  of  New  York,  none  voted  for  the  law, 
and  all  were  returned.  Every  Democratic  senator  from  the 
North,  save  2,  evaded  the  vote.  Marked  changes  occur  now 
in  both  the  houses  of  Congress.  While  the  great  lights  of  the 
senate  still  shine  in  their  j3laces, — a  Douglas,  Davis,  and  Cass; 
a  Clay,  Seward,  and  Chase;  yet  both  Webster  and  Calhoun  are 
missing,  and  a  Sumner  and  Wade  put  in  an  appearance.  In 
the  house,  the  men  of  mark  are  still  there, — a  Stephens,  Gen- 
try, and  Toombs;  a  Clingman,  Seymour  and  Giddings;  a  Ste- 
vens and  Venable;  yet  Wilmot  has  disappeared,  and  J.  C. 
Breckenridge  and  Hendricks  are  admitted  to  their  seats.  In 
the  senate,  notwithstanding  all  changes,  the  Democrats  count 
38  to  Whigs  24,  a  Democratic  majority  of  14.  In  the  house, 
the  Democrats  count  142  to  Whigs  91,  a  Democratic  majority 
of  51  in  the  house,  and  of  65  on  joint  ballot. 

Again,  as  before,  the  contest  for  speaker  commanded  pub- 
lic attention.  The  Hon.  Thaddeus  Stevens  of  Pennsylvania 
was  nominated  as  representing  the  Whig  party,  the  Hon. 
Linn  Boyd  of  Kentucky  being  nominated  as  the  candidate  rep- 
resenting the  "compromise  measures."  A  formal  demand  was 
instantly  made  to  learn  how  far,  or  to  what  extent,  the  Whig 
party  had  repudiated  these  measures,  and,  upon  humble  pre- 
sentation of  caucus  resolutions  declaring  that  the  party  accept- 
ed the  same,  it  was  as  boldly  announced,  by  others  of  the 
same  party,  that  these  resolutions  were  worthless  and  vain. 
The  South  accused  both  Whigs  and  Democrats  in  the  North  of 
affiliation  with  the  abolitionists.  The  North  accused  the  South 
of  H(!(!king  to  make  slavery  national.  The  result  of  the  long 
debate  was  that,  upon  the  appeal  of  Mr.  Giddiugs,  the  oldest 
member  of  tlie  house,  the  debate  terminated,  the  clerk  called 
the  roll,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Boyd  being  elected  speaker  by  a  vote 
of  118  out  of  213  votes  cast,  107  being  necessary  to  a  choice. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  177 

As  a  delegate  from  Minnesota,  not  yet  admitted  as  a  state, 
Mr.  Sibley  had  no  vote  in  any  of  the  legislation  connected 
with  the  "compromise  measures."  Elected,  moreover,  as  the 
candidate  of  no  political  party,  nor  upon  any  party  issue,  even 
after  party  lines  had  been  drawn  in  the  territory,  but  returned 
to  Congress  by  votes  from  all  parties,  upon  the  sole  ground 
that,  of  all  others,  he  was  the  man  to  serve  the  best  interests 
of  Minnesota,  and  the  only  man  to  save  them  from  threatened 
disaster,  the  knowledge  of  which  was  made  known  to  him,  it 
behooved  him  to  still  pursue  the  wise  policy  he  first  adopted, 
and  eschew,  as  far  as  possible,  all  political  conflicts  at  the 
seat  of  the  federal  government.  At  the  close  of  the  previous 
Oongress  he  had  issued  an  "address"  to  his  constituents, 
counseling  them  not  to  allow  party  politics  to  distract  their 
elections,  but,  at  present,  until  the  territory  became  more 
advanced,  to  remain  united  as  a  people,  laboring  in  concert 
for  no  party  ends,  but  for  the  general  good,  and  enforced  this 
by  the  fact  that,  such  was  the  temper  of  the  times  and  the 
excitements  at  Washington,  every  interest  of  Minnesota  would 
be  endangered,  or  impeded,  if  not  absolutely  sacrificed,  were 
the  delegate  to  Congress  trammeled  by  imposed  obligations  to 
declare  himself  a  party  man,  on  either  side.  Still  further, 
even  after  the  formation  of  political  parties  in  the  state,  and 
his  expressed  purpose  not  to  be  a  candidate  for  re-election, 
he  was  written  to,  and  waited  on,  at  Washington,  prior  to  the 
close  of  the  Thirty-first  Congress,  and  urgently  persuaded  to 
retract  his  purpose,  and  allowed  his  name  to  go  before  the 
people  a  third  time,  as  that  of  their  candidate  for  the  Con- 
gress ensuing.  He  yielded,  assigning  his  reasons  in  an  ^^ Ad- 
dress to  the  People  of  Minnesota,^''  issued  from  Washington, 
July  29,  1850;  and,  although  unable  to  leave  his  post  there 
without  jeopardizing  the  interests  of  the  territory,  and  wholly 
absent  from  the  canvass,  nor  contributing  one  dollar  to  its 
conduct  or  support,  he  was,  in  face  of  conspiracies  and  oppo- 
sitions not  creditable  under  the  circumstances,  elected  tri- 
umphantly, and  returned  the  third  time  to  the  national  legis- 
lature. ^    Having  already,  in  what  was  known  as  the  ^''American 

In  his  "address,"  July  29, 1850,  he  says,  —  after  recounting  the  oppressive  and  unwearied 
labors  undergone,  during  the  two  previous  sessions  of  Congress,  and  his  announced  deter- 
mination to  retire  from  congressional  life,  — "I  have  been  a  trorking  man,  thus  far,  through 
life,  but  never  have  been  called  upon  to  undergo  labor  so  incessant  and  so  exhausting  as  dur- 
ing this  and  the  preceding  session  of  Congress.  It  will  be  naturally  asked,  why  then  have  I 
any  desire  to  return  here  as  the  delegate,  after  the  expiration  of  my  present  term  of  service? 
I  have  two  reasons  only  to  assign  why  I  have  consented  again  to  go  before  the  people  as  a 

12 


178  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

House  Letter,^^  in  response  to  the  committee  of  the  Democratic 
convention  that  waited  on  him,  declared  his  sentiments,  as 
a  "Democrat  of  the  Jeffersonian  School,"  he  yet  distinctly- 
asserted  that,  having  been  elected  by  both  Whigs  and  Demo- 
crats, he  would  "in  no  event  depart  from  a  course  of  strict 
neutrality,  as  to  political  issues,  in  the  discharge  of  public 
duties  to  the  people  of  the  territory."  Guided  by  such  judg- 
ment, he,  at  once,  when  Congress  met,  directed  his  attention 
to  his  work,  and  instantly  gave  notice  of  hispurjiose  to  intro- 
duce the  following  five  bills,  (1)  "to  grant  certain  lands  for 
the  construction  of  a  railroad  from  the  falls  of  the  St.  Louis 
river  of  Lake  Superior  to  a  point  on  the  Mississippi  river;" 
(2)  "for  the  construction  and  continuance  of  certain  roads  in 
Minnesota  Territory;"  (3)  "for  the  appointment  of  a  sur- 
veyor general  of  public  lands  in  Minnesota  Territory:"  (4) 
"for  the  removal  of  obstructions  to  navigation  in  the  Missis- 
sippi river,  above  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony;"  and  (5)  "for 
the  establishment  of  an  additional  land  district  and  new  land 
office  in  the  Territory  of  Minnesota."  December  16,  1851,  he 
presented  the  claim  of  the  Minnesota  Volunteers  to  "com- 
pensation for  service  in  suppressing  the  Winnebago  hostili- 
ties in  July,  1850."  January  5,  1852,  he  introduced  the  "bill 
to  grant  the  right  of  way,  with  donation  of  i^ublic  lands,  to 
aid  in  the  construction  of  a  railroad  from  the  St.  Louis  river 
of  Lake  Superior  to  St.  Paul,"  and  on  the  fifteenth  of  the  same 
month  introduced  "a  bill  to  grant  to  the  several  states  of  the 
Union  the  proceeds  of  certain  public  lands  for  the  relief  and 
support  of  the  indigent  insane  therein;"  these  bills  being 
referred  to  the  proper  committees.  The  day  following  he  pre- 
sented "the  claim  of  B.  Baldwin,  and  five  others,  to  compen- 
sation for  injuries  caused  by  being  driven  from  the  military 
reserve  at  Fort  Snelling."  February  2,  1852,  he  introduced 
a  resolution  "that  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands  be  instruct- 


cnndidate  for  re-election.  The  jirs I  is  tliat  many  of  my  friends,  m-e.?;)«c/«'e  of  part ij,  hay e 
urged  rae  so  to  do;  tlie  second  is  my  entire  conviction  that  one  or  more  of  those  who  liave 
been  announced  as  probable  candidates  for  the  station  I  now  hold,  seek  to  be  elected,  not  for 
thf,  advancement  of  the  territory  and  its  interests,  hut  to  subserve  private  ends  and  selfish  purposes. 
I  have  toiled  too  long  and  too  faithfully  for  Minnesota  to  be  willing  to  see  its  destinies  com- 
mitted to  such  handR,  if  by  any  sacrifico  of  my  own  iiiolination  or  comfort,  I  can  avert  from 
it  Buch  evil.  Ueing  necessarily  absent  from  the  canvass,  I  must  expect,  therefore,  to  be 
asuailed  by  every  device  and  weapon  my  opponents  can  bring  to  bear  against  me.  Some,  I 
feel  assureil  will  not  descend  to  detraction  or  abuse  to  endeavor  to  bring  aliout  my  defeat 
From  others,  who  are  announced  as  aspirants  to  the  same  ollice,  I  may  not  expect,  nor  do  I 
ask  any  forbearance.  If  elected,  I  shall  labor  with  the  same  zeal  and  diligence  which  have 
thus  far  characterized  my  course.    More  than  this  I  can  neither  promise  nor  perform." 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  179 

ed  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  devoting  the  proceeds  of 
Fort  Snelling  military  reserve,  when  sold,  to  the  benefit  of  the 
University  of  Minnesota,  in  lieu  of  a  like  number  of  acres  of 
land  already  granted  by  Congress  for  the  same  purpose,  and 
to  report  by  bill  or  otherwise;"  — and,  next  day,  more  clerks 
being  necessary  for  the  dispatch  of  official  business  in  the 
territories,  he  introduced  a  "bill  to  amend  certain  acts  for 
establishing  the  territorial  governments  of  Oregon  and  Min- 
nesota." March  3,  1852,  he  presented  the  petition  of  J.  W. 
North,  and  others,  praying  for  "the  reduction  of  rates  of 
postage  on  newspapers  and  periodicals,  in  order  to  facilitate 
knowledge."  April  1,  1852,  he  introduced  a  resolution  "to 
establish  a  military  post  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,-" — Fort 
Gaines,  now  Fort  Eipley.  Again,  April  14,  1852,  he  intro- 
duced a  resolution  in  behalf  of  settlers  who  had  settled  on  the 
school  lands,  inadvertently,  previous  to  survey,  that  said  set- 
tlers might  be  "allowed  to  enter  such  lands  upon  payment  of 
the  minimum  price,  the  territory  being  permitted  to  select 
other  lands  of  equal  value  in  lieu  thereof," — a  resolution 
adopted  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands. 
Ai^ril  25,  1852,  he  presented  the  petition  of  G.  W.  Campbell, 
and  others,  that  ' '  the  government  engineer  be  authorized  to 
change  the  route  of  the  road  from  Point  Douglas  to  the  falls 
of  the  St.  Louis  river,  so  that  it  shall  pass  by  Bowie's  Mills 
instead  of  by  Cottage  Grove,"  and  on  the  twenty  ninth  the 
petition  of  A.  E.  Ames,  and  others,  praying  "that  a  pension 
be  granted  Anthony  Page."  May  3,  1852,  he  gave  notice  of 
his  purpose  to  offer  an  important  amendment  to  the  senate 
bill,  then  under  discussion  in  the  house,  with  reference  to  the 
salaries  of  territorial  officers,  and  the  penalty  to  be  incurred 
in  case  of  neglect  of  their  duties,  by  reason  of  unnecessary 
absence  from  the  territory.  June  7,  1852,  he  introduced  a 
"bill  to  authorize  the  legislative  authority  of  the  territories 
to  control  appropriations  that  may  be  made  by  Congress  for 
the  support  of  the  government  of  said  territories;"  while, 
June  14,  1852,  at  his  suggestion,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Dodge  of  Iowa 
introduced  into  the  senate  a  "bill  for  the  benefit  of  Minne- 
sota Territory  and  State  of  lotva,^^  the  same  bill  having  been 
ruled  out  from  consideration  as  "territorial  business,"  by  the 
house,  on  the  ground  that  the  railroad  projected  therein  was 
not  confined  to  the  Territory  of  Minnesota.  June  22,  1852, 
he  presented  ' '  the  memorial  of  Davis  Cooper,  and  others,  a 


180  ANCESTBY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 


committee  of  trustees  of  Cottage  Grove  Academy,  Minnesota, 
praying  for  a  grant  of  land  for  the  establishment  and  mainte- 
nance of  that  institution."  June  28,  1852,  he  introduced  a 
joint  resolution  "to  purchase  the  half-breed  tract  on  Lake 
Pepin  in  Minnesota  Territory."  August  25,  1852,  he  pre- 
sented the  claim  of  W.  Dahl  "for  compensation  as  assistant 
marshal  in  taking  the  census  of  the  territory  in  1850." 

This  almost  unexampled  diligence  and  devotion  of  Mr. 
Sibley  to  the  interests  of  his  constituents  was  furthermore  evi- 
denced in  the  earnestness  with  which,  laboring  incessantly 
among  the  various  committees  of  both  houses,  and  with  the 
leading  members  of  Congress,  he  was  enabled  to  secure  the 
passage  of  so  many  measures  during  the  same  session  of  Con- 
gress, and  of  so  great  importance  to  the  Territory  of  Minne- 
sota. Chief  among  these  was  the  passage,  by  the  senate,  of 
the  bill  already  passed  by  the  house,  for  further  appropria- 
tions for  the  erection  of  public  buildings  in  the  territory;  the 
bill  for  the  appropriation  of  certain  lauds  for  support  of 
schools  in  townshijis  and  fractional  townships  not  heretofore 
provided  for;  the  bill  for  further  appropriations  for  the  con- 
struction of  roads  in  the  territory;  the  bill  to  reduce  the  mili- 
tary reserve  at  Fort  Snelling;  the  bill  to  provide  for  the 
survey  of  the  Mississippi  river  above  the  Falls  of  St.  An- 
thony; the  bill  to  amend  certain  acts  in  the  act  establishing 
the  territorial  governments  of  Oregon  and  Minnesota,  and 
whereby  a  larger  clerical  force  was  granted  to  each,  with 
additional  appropriations;  the  act  establishing  a  new  land 
district  and  officers,  such  officers  appointed  by  the  president, 
the  senate  concurring;  the  change  of  the  name  of  the  St. 
Peter's  river  to  that  of  Minnesota  river;  the  bill  to  authorize 
the  legislature  of  the  territory  to  control  the  appropriations 
Congress  might  make  to  the  same;  and  various  amendments 
and  suggestions,  from  time  to  time,  made  to  the  civil  and 
diplomatic,  the  deficiency  and  Indian  bills,  whereby  valuable 
l)ecuniary  benefits  were  secured  to  the  government  and  offi- 
cers of  tlie  territoiy,  and  various  claims,  both  individual  and 
collective,  were  satisfied. 

As  the  "delegate  from  Wisconsin  Territory  "  he  had  se- 
cured, in  the  bill  passed  by  Congress  for  the  establishment  of 
the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  $45,000  as  the  first  federal  appro- 
l)riation  to  the  territory.  As  the  "delegate  from  Minnesota 
Territory"  he  had,  in  the  Thirty-first  Congress,  secured,  still 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  181 

further,  the  appropriation,  during  its  first  session,  of  $40,000 
more  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  roads,  and,  during  its  sec- 
ond session,  $34,000  more  to  meet  the  necessities  of  the  terri- 
torial legislature  and  judiciary,  the  support  of  the  superin- 
tendent of  Indian  affairs,  and  contingent  expenses.  Now, 
during  the  first  session  of  the  Thirty-second  Congress,  the 
amounts  appropriated,  through  his  influence,  were,  for  con- 
tingent expenses  of  the  legislative  assembly,  $8,000;  expenses 
of  treaty  with  the  Mississippi  and  St.  Peters  Sioux  Indians, 
for  extinguishment  of  their  title  to  lands  in  Minnesota  Terri- 
tory, $4,272.38;  expenses  of  treaty  with  the  Indians  and  half- 
breeds  for  extinguishment  of  their  title  to  lands  on  the  Eed 
Eiver  of  the  North,  $901.05;  by  amendment  to  the  deficiency 
bill,  meeting  expenses  for  printing,  binding,  and  revising  the 
''Eevised  Statutes"  of  the  territory,  and  for  extra  clerks, 
$8,000,  making  in  all  an  appropriation  of  $21,173.43  during 
the  first  session  of  this  Congress;  or,  thus  far,  since  his  entry 
into  Congress,  a  total  of  $140,173.43. 

More  frequently  than  ever,  during  this  session,  does  Mr. 
Sibley  appear  on  the  floor  of  the  house,  entering  into  the  lists 
of  debate,  on  vital  questions  of  territorial  rights,  federal  pol- 
icy, and  interpretation  of  the  Constitution.  The  occasions 
that  furnished  opportunity  for  the  exhibitions  of  his  knowl- 
edge, wisdom,  far-reaching  sagacity,  broad  statesmanship, 
love  of  justice  and  humanity,  fidelity  to  sacred  trusts,  and 
which  displayed  his  parliamentary  skill,  were  numerous  and 
oft-recurring.  Wherever  a  "principle"  was  involved  in  leg- 
islation that  affected,  directly  or  indirectly,  the  interests  of 
Minnesota,  or  of  territories  in  general,  there  he  was  found, 
ever  ready  to  defend  the  true  against  the  false,  the  right 
against  the  wrong,  the  wise  against  the  foolish.  Already  he 
had  vindicated  his  right,  as  a  territorial  delegate,  to  equality 
with  the  representatives  from  the  states,  save  as  to  the  one 
item  of  voting,  and  manfully  maintained  and  practiced  it. 
His  speeches  and  remarks  on  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Commit- 
tee on  Territories;  the  bill  for  appropriation  of  moneys  for 
the  construction  of  roads  in  Minnesota  Territory;  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  territorial  legislatures;  for  the  construction  of 
military  roads,  in  view,  not  merely  of  present  need,  but  of 
future  contingencies;  on  the  harbor  bill;  on  the  duties  and 
salaries  of  territorial  oificers;  on  the  claims  of  the  Menomo- 
nie  Indians;  on  the  Indian,   and  the  general  appropriation 


182  ANCESTHY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

bills;  on  the  homestead  bill;  all  prove  him  to  have  been,  even 
before  he  reached  his  prime,  one  among  the  readiest,  clearest, 
most  courteous,  and  effective  debaters  in  the  house,  and,  not 
less,  one  of  the  ablest,  best  informed,  wisest,  most  upright 
and  humane,  as  well  as  liberal,  sagacious,  and  accomplished 
members  of  the  National  Congress. 

His  views  in  reference  to  the  duties  and  salaries  of  terri- 
torial ofS.ces  were  neither  doubtful  nor  obscure.  Faithful 
and  diligent  in  his  own  ministerial  office  as  the  servant  of 
the  people,  he  required  like  fidelity  and  diligence  in  others, 
especially  in  the  territorial  officers  whose  constant  j)resence 
in  the  territory  was  a  necessity,  and  the  prompt  discharge  of 
whose  duties  was  indispensable  to  the  welfare  of  the  people. 
Great  laxity  in  this  respect  had  hitherto  prevailed  in  certain 
cases,  and  great  inconvenience  to  the  settlers  dwelling  at  such 
distances,  and  whose  causes  could  only  be  adjudged  by  a 
federal  judiciary.  The  abuses  under  the  old  law,  which  placed 
no  restriction  upon  the  officers  of  the  territory,  had  become 
enormous,  and  given  to  the  president  of  the  United  States 
more  trouble  than  any  other  matter  that  came  under  his 
proper  supervision.  The  question, — one  of  great  delicacy 
and  magnitude,  —how  long  territorial  officers  might  absent 
themselves,  and  especially  judicial  officers,  from  their  posts 
of  duty,  had  swelled  to  unusual  proportions,  and  led  to 
special  legislation.  In  passing  the  general  appropriation  bill, 
March  3,  1851,  Congress  had  inserted  a  j>roviso  dej)riving 
territorial  officers  of  their  whole  salary  for  the  entire  year,  in 
case  of  absence  from  the  territory  for  more  than  sixty  days 
in  one  year.  The  senate  bill  relating  to  the  salaries  of  the 
territorial  officers,  under  discussion  in  the  house.  May  3, 
1852,  sought  to  repeal  that  proviso  and  enact  a  forfeiture  of 
salary  only  equal  to  that  accruing  during  the  i^eriod  of  their 
absence,  unless  cause  could  be  shown  for  the  same,  and 
deemed  satisfactory  to  the  president;  in  short,  enacted  full 
compensation  for  the  whole  period  of  absence,  provided  the 
president  should  adjudge  the  reasons  for  such  absence  satis- 
factory to  himself.  Against  this,  the  house's  Committee  on 
Territories  reported  an  amendment,  virtually  a  substitute,  so 
as  to  retain  the  old  proviso,  yet  conceding  the  judgment  in 
the  case  to  the  j) resident,  —  an  amendment  repoited  to  the 
liouse  at  Mr.  Sibley's  suggestion.  At  various  dates  the  dis- 
cussion became  quite  animated,  and  enlisted  a  large  number 


HON.  HENKY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  183 

■of  representatives.  It  was  complicated,  moreover,  by  the 
outrages  in  Utah  Territory,  under  Brigham  Young,  the  re- 
moteness of  the  region,  and  the  virtual  expulsion  of  the 
federal  ofdcers  from  its  bounds.  Inflexible,  however,  to  the 
principle  involved,  viz.,  the  duty  of  the  officer  to  be  present 
at  his  post,  Mr.  Sibley  gave  utterance  to  no  ambiguous  words 
on  this  occasion.  He  resisted  the  senate  legislation,  defended 
the  house  committee's  amendment,  and  succeeded  in  secur- 
ing the  concurrence  of  the  senate  with  the  action  of  the  house. 
His  frankness  and  fearlessness  and  courteous  expression  are 
best  seen  in  the  light  of  his  own  words: 

' '  My  own  territory, ' '  said  he,  ' '  has  suffered  much  from  the  absence  of 
its  officers,  for  months  together.  I  think  that  the  original  proviso  with- 
holding salary  from  any  officer  who  is  absent  for  more  than  sixty  days  from 
his  territory,  Avithout  good  cause  can  be  shown  for  such  absence,  is  a  proper 
and  a  just  one.  I  do  not  believe  that  the  provisions  purposed  by  the  senate 
are  sufficient  to  keep  these  officers  at  home,  if  they  have  a  desire  to  absent 
themselves.  *  *  *  These  provisions  do  not  meet  my  approbation. 
They  effectually  annul  all  previous  legislation  on  the  subject,  providing 
that  every  officer  who  absents  himself,  for  a  period  of  sixty  days  or  more, 
from  his  post  during  the  year,  shall  not  lose  his  salary  for  the  whole  year, 
but  merely  the  pro  rata  compensation  for  the  period  he  may  be  absent. 
That,  I  contend,  is  not  sufficiently  precautionary  in  its  character.  The 
Committee  on  Territories,  replacing  the  clause  in  its  original  form,  now  pro- 
vide that,  if  an  officer  is  absent  any  time, — nothing  said  about  sixty  days, — 
from  the  field  of  his  official  duties,  he  shall  lose  his  salary  for  the  entire 
year,  unless  he  can  procure  a  certificate  from  the  president  that  he  had  good 
cause  of  absence.  I  regard  this  as  absolutely  necessary  for  the  iirotection 
of  the  public  interests  of  the  people  of  the  territories.  If  officers  accept 
office  in  the  territories,  for  which  they  are  well  paid  by  the  government, 
they  ought  to  be  willing  to  remain  there  and  discharge  their  legitimate 
duties.  I  am  in  favor  of  making  the  provision  as  stringent  as  is  consistent 
with  justice,  and  hold  that  if  any  officer  absents  himself,  without  good 
cause  therefor,  he  should  not  be  paid  one  dollar  of  his  yearly  salary.  I  am 
anxious  that  the  provisions  of  the  bill  "may  be  made  sufficiently  strong  to 
secure  the  people  I  have  the  honor  to  represent  against  the  evils  of  a  con- 
tinued absence  of  the  judicial  and  other  officers  of  the  territory.  The 
judges  are  vested  with  federal  as  well  as  territorial  powers,  and  are  the 
only  officers  who  can  issue  habeas  corpus,  and  other  writs,  act  at  chambers, 
and  perform  the  other  duties  of  superior  courts.  I  trust  the  gentleman 
from  Pennsylvania  (Mr.  Stevens)  will  be  satisfied  with  my  explanation,  and 
the  necessity  of  such  restrictions  as  are  imposed  by  this  bill.  As  to  the 
removal  of  a  territorial  judge  by  the  president,  so  far  from  the  concession 
of  such  power  to  the  president,  it  is  a  mooted  question,  at  this  moment 
before  the  senate  of  the  United  States,  and  many  eminent  jurists  deny  that 
any  such  power  exists.  Be  that  as  it  may,  and  even  admitting  that  such  a 
power  does  exist,  there  are  grave  reasons  why  it  should  be  exercised  only  in 


184  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

extreme  cases;  for,  if  the  territorial  judiciary  is  subject  to  be  displaced 
arbitrarily,  and  without  good  and  sufficient  cause,  it  ceases  to  be  independ- 
ent of  executive  control,  and  will  speedily  be  converted  into  a  mere  politi- 
cal engine,  and  no  longer  be  depended  on,  or  respected,  by  the  people."^ 
[Here  the  hammer  fell.] 

A  wiser,  calmer,  more  compact,  convincing,  or  appropri- 
ately expressed  argument  and  opinion  in  the  case  fell  not  from 
the  lips  of  any  of  the  twenty  speakers  who  took  part  in  this 
discussion.  It  carried  weight  with  it.  Like  the  effective 
^'caterum  censeo^^  of  the  elder  Cato,  it  accomplished  its  end. 
The  house  amendment  was  carried  almost  unanimously,  and 
June  9,  1852,  the  senate  receding  from  its  own  propositions 
concurred  with  the  action  of  the  house. 

Not  less  emphatic  were  his  utterances  in  defense  of  the 
homestead  bill,  whereby,  under  a  radical  alteration  of  the  old 
land  legislation,  he  hoped  successfully,  with  others,  to  resist 
an  effort  earnestly  made  to  defeat  the  bill.  The  bill  was  a  bill 
to  encourage  agriculture,  commerce,  manufactures,  and  all 
other  branches  of  industry,  by  granting  to  every  man  who  is 
the  head  of  a  family,  and  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  a 
homestead  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  out  of  the 
public  domain,  upon  condition  of  occupancy  and  cultivation  of 
the  same  for  a  period  of  two  years.  The  opposition  to  the  bill 
was  grounded  in  the  following  arguments:  (1)  That  by  the  sale 
of  the  public  lands  the  wealth  and  revenues  of  the  general 
government  would  be  diminished;  (2)  the  taxation  of  those 
not  benefited  by  the  sales  would  be  correspondingly  increased; 
(3)  the  past  prosperity  of  the  nation,  under  the  old  policy  of 
limited  sales  at  high  prices,  was  sufficient  vindication  of  its 
prosperity;  and  (4)  that  the  bill  was  tinctured  with  socialistic 
and  agrarian  principles,  dangerous  to  the  welfare  of  the  repub- 
lic. As  against  this  reasoning  Mr.  Sibley  directed  one  of  the 
grandest,  though  brief,  and  ablest  efforts  of  his  congressional 
career.  He  assailed  the  existing  policy  of  the  government  (1) 
as  uneconomical.  With  a  public  domain  of  fourteen  hundred 
millionH  of  acres  of  land,  the  average  sales,  per  annum,  but 
little  exceeded  one  million  acres,  whereas  free  grants  of  land 
to  actual  settlers  would  so  swell  the  number  of  consumers  of 
foreign  goods  as  to  greatly  increase  the  duties  on  imports,  and 
so  compensate  for  any  diminution  in  the  receipts,  from  the  sale 
of  the  public  lands.  (2)  It  was  avaricious.    It  grasped,  for  the 


1  Globe,  Vol.  24,  I'arl  fi,  \n>.  ri.'iC,  1410,  i  US. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  185 

benefit  of  the  government,  its  immense  unoccupied  possessions 
with  the  tenacity  of  a  miser,  and  conflicted  with  the  political 
axiom  in  all  popular  governments  that  such  governments 
should  remain  poor,  however  prosperous  the  people  might 
become.  (3)  It  was  rigid  and  exacting.  It  sold  the  land  at 
high  rates,  and  next  imposed  a  tax  of  twenty  dollars  per  an- 
num, which  was  a  new  and  unjust  charge  upon  production, 
raising  the  natural  price,  while  yet  the  whole  cost  of  the  pub- 
lic lands  was  less  than  twenty-two  cents  per  acre,  the  govern- 
ment making  a  clear  profit  of  more  than  one  dollar  per  acre 
on  all  that  was  sold.  "If,"  said  Mr,  Sibley,  "an  individual 
capitalist  should  take  advantage  of  his  wealth  to  monopolize, 
and  hold  at  exorbitant  rates,  any  article  indispensable  to  the 
subsistence  and  comfort  of  the  community  in  which  he  lives, 
he  would  justly  be  denounced  as  a  wretch  unfit  to  associate 
with  honorable  men.  And  yet,  in  no  respect,  would  he  be 
more  heartless,  or  worthy  of  blame,  than  a  government  which 
exacts  from  its  citizens  a  fivefold  price  for  those  lands  which 
are  absolutely  necessary  for  their  support."  (4)  It  was  self- 
impoverishing.  "It  is  a  fact,"  said  he,  "that  the  increase  in 
the  sales  of  the  public  lands  has  by  no  means  kept  pace  with 
that  of  the  population,  since  the  foundation  of  the  govern- 
ment. (5)  It  was  productive  of  crime  and  corruption.  The 
high  rates  of  sale  had  forced  thousands  upon  thousands  to 
remain  in  the  corrupting  atmosphere  of  our  large  cities  who 
otherwise  would  have  become  contented  and  happy  tillers  of 
the  soil."  (6)  It  was  cruel  to  the  pioneer.  "He  is  pursued 
with  unrelenting  severity  as  soon  as  he  has  broken  the  silence 
of  the  primeval  forest  with  the  blows  of  an  American  axe. 
After  enduring  all  his  privations,  and  subjecting  himself  to 
the  perils  incident  to  his  vocation,  he  who  has  toiled  for 
months  in  honest  labor,  suddenly  finds  himself  clutched  by  the 
law,  as  a  trespasser  on  the  public  domain,  and  bereft  of  the 
proceeds  of  his  long  winter's  work,  for  the  benefit  of  his  pa- 
ternal government,  or  rather,  for  the  advantage  of  its  minions. 
Sir,  these  outrages  in  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota  are  sanctioned 
by  the  same  government  that  permits  the  public  lands  in  Cali- 
fornia and  Oregon  to  be  overrun  by  foreigners  who  appropri- 
ate to  their  own  use  what  is  ujwn  as  well  as  under  the  earth, 
without  hindrance.  The  time  is  at  hand  when  the  arbitrary 
exercise  of  power,  such  as  I  have  alluded  to,  will  be  rebuked 
by  the  people.     Nor  will  it  long  be  endured  that  the  immense 


186  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 


public  domain  shall  coutiuue  to  be  barred  against  those  who 
have  not  the  means  to  pay  for  tilling  the  ground  God  has 
given  to  all  his  creatures,  but  of  which  the  avaricious  temper 
of  the  government  has  hitherto  deprived  even  its  own  citi- 
zens." (7)  The  bill  under  discussion  is  true  Democratic  doc- 
trine. "I  repel  with  indignation,"  said  Mr.  Sibley,  "the 
charge  I  have  heard  made,  that  the  bill  is  tinctured  with 
agrarian  doctrines.  Sir,  when  I  see  the  honorable  gentleman 
from  Pennsylvania  (Mr.  Chandler)  so  eloquent  in  defense  of 
this  bill,  and  sustained  by  such  men  as  his  colleagues  (Daw- 
son and  Moore)  and  also  by  the  chairman  of  the  Land  Com- 
mittee and  other  gentlemen  equally  distinguished  and  con- 
servative, and  all  in  accord  with  the  great  lights  of  both  par- 
ties of  the  country,  particularly  the  Democratic  party,  I  can 
but  express  my  astonishment  that  any  member  could  be  found 
with  boldness  sufficient  to  denounce  it  as  I  have  heard  it  de- 
nounced in  this  hall." 

Such  is  only  a  meager  resume  of  the  substance  of  this  elo- 
quent argument  on  the  homestead  bill.  Like  Chatham  in  the 
commons,  Mr.  Sibley  held  that  "  the  true  strength  and  stam- 
ina of  a  country  are  to  be  found,  not  in  its  trade,  but  in  the 
cultivators  of  the  soil,  their  simpleness  of  virtue,  their  integ- 
rity, and  courage  of  freedom,  men  inured  to  labor,  genuine, 
invincible,  the  bulwarks  of  liberty,  and  the  heart  of  a  nation's 
power."  He  saw,  what  every  statesman  sees,  that,  after  all, 
a  nation's  wealth  and  glory  always  spring  from,  and  return 
to,  her  soil.  The  proudest  emporiums  may  decay  by  the  diver- 
sion of  trade,  but  a  nation's  greatness  and  permanence  rests 
upon  the  self-dependence  and  the  self-existence  of  her  sons 
of  toil. 

"  While  trade's  proud  emi)ire  hastes  to  swift  decay, 
And  ocean  sweeps  the  labored  mole  away, 
This  self-dependent  power  shall  time  defy, 
As  rocks  resist  the  billows  and  the  sky." 

"My  life,"  said  Mr.  Sibley,  "has  been  passed  in  the  territories,  upon 
the  outer  verge  of  civilization.  /  have  never  spent  a  month  in  any  state  of  the 
Union.  I  know  the  character  of  the  pioneer,  and  the  men  on  the  way  to 
the  West,  and  I  speak  understandingly  when  J.  .say  that  it  is  such  homes  as 
this  hill  will  create  which  will  ever  remain  the  nurseries  of  that  love  of  freedom  by 
which  alone  our  f/ovcrnment  can  he  perpetuated.  In  the  hour  of  danger  to  the 
I'lnintry,  there  will  issue  from  the  atwdes  of  live  workiny  classes  of  your  inland 
ji'ijnilalion,  a  j)oiiJcr  not  only  self-sustaininij,  hat  abundantly  uhle  to  bear  Ihe  Ship 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  187 

of  State  safely  through  all  the  stonm  that  may  beset  her.  If,  then,  the  future 
hopes  of  the  republic  must  rest,  not  upon  the  denizens  of  crowded  cities,  but 
in  the  masses  who  daily  toil  in  the  workshop  and  on  the  farm,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  best  policy  to  be  pursued  is  that  which  favors  the  increase 
and  prosperity  of  our  industrial  classes."^ 

There  is  always  something  prophetic  in  the  mind  of  a  man 
naturally  great.  His  conviction  that  a  moral  order  rules  the 
universe  to  which  nations  are  subject,  rewarding  the  right  and 
avenging  the  wrong,  never  deserts  him.  His  vision  descries 
the  "coming  events"  that  "cast  their  shadows  before."  The 
voice  here  was  like  that  of  the  ancient  Gracchi,  in  the  gath- 
ering storms  of  the  Roman  Republic.  The  homestead  policy 
was  that  which  alone  could  save  a  nation.  It  asserted  man's 
right  to  the  soil  as  well  as  to  the  sunlight  and  air.  It  denied 
that  the  public  domain,  bought  by  the  common  treasure  of 
the  people,  or  won  by  their  valor,  should  be  grasped  and  held 
by  the  government  as  a  source  of  its  own  emolument,  or  devo- 
ted to  monopolies  and  chartered  corporations,  against  the 
interest  of  the  laboring  classes.  It  vindicated  the  citizen's 
right  to  a  home,  and  that  of  the  pioneer  especially  to  the  most 
liberal  policy  the  government  could  devise.  It  smote  the 
axiom  of  despots,  and  of  writers  in  the  interest  of  despots, 
that  man,  when  entering  society,  surrenders  his  inalienable 
rights  to  life,  liberty,  and  happiness,  for  the  benefit  of  society, 
the  support  of  tyrants,  or  a  soulless  abstraction.  It  lifted  a 
protest  against  theexisting  policy  which  made  the  government 
an  altar  on  which  sacrifices  were  offered  to  the  god  Mammon, 
and  demanded  that  Congress  should  no  longer  legislate  in  favor 
of  the  strong  as  against  the  weak,  or  elevate  the  lust  of  wealth 
to  power  in  the  hands  of  a  few,  upon  the  wail  and  woe  of  the 
struggling  masses  below.  It  was  the  sentiment  of  Washing- 
ton, of  the  founders  of  the  republic,  of  the  Puritan  stock  from 
which  Mr.  Sibley  came,  the  broad  and  open  ground  that  the 
public  lands,  though  appropriated,  in  a  measure,  to  state 
needs  and  territorial  improvements,  were  yet  the  treasure  of 
the  people,  and  that  the  federal  policy  should  be  one  of 
"  mercy"  to  the  poor,  — a  "  quality"  that  "is  not  strained," 
but 

' '  Droppeth  as  the  gentle  rain  from  heaven, 

Upon  the  place  beneath;  twice  blessed; 

Both  blessing  him  that  gives  and  him  that  takes." 

1  Globe,  Appendix,  Vol.  25,  pp.  486,  487. 


188  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

The  passage  of  the  homestead  bill  was  another  of  the  great 
victories  in  which  Mr.  Sibley  bore  a  conspicuous  part,  and 
how  rich  a  blessing  it  has  been  to  the  nation  in  the  develop- 
ment of  her  resources,  splendor,  and  strength,  the  public 
domain  will  remain  a  witness  and  monument  forever. 

The  same  fidelity,  however,  which  enlisted  the  ardor  of  Mr. 
Sibley  in  defense  of  the  homestead  bill,  exacted  from  him  a 
vigorous  and  instant  resistance  to  the  bill  for  the  indigent 
insane,  on  the  same  day,  and  same  occasion.  That  bill,  intro- 
duced by  Mr.  Bissell  of  Illinois,  provided  for  "a  donation  of  ten 
millions  of  acres  of  public  lands  to  be  apportioned  among  the 
states,  in  the  compound  ratio  of  their  area  and  representation, 
for  the  relief  and  support  of  the  indigent  insane  therein."  It 
stipulated  that  each  state  having  within  its  own  limits  lands  of 
a  ^^ suitable  quality^'  for  this  object,  should  receive  its  portion 
from  the  same,  but  states  not  having  such  lands  should  be 
'^authorized  to  select  from  the  public  domain,  not  in  the  other 
states,  but  exclusively  in  the  territories.^''  The  like  scheme 
had  been  presented  to  the  previous  Congress,  but  was  first 
modified,  at  Mr.  Sibley's  earnest  request,  and  then  defeated. 
Eevived  now  in  substantially  the  same  form,  it  was  a  second 
time  resisted.  Its  advocates  not  only  pressed  the  importance 
of  providing  for  the  poor  unfortunates  contemplated  in  the 
bill,  but  further  urged,  in  support  of  the  bill,  that  it  would 
(1)  protect  the  actual  settler  in  his  rights,  (2)  confirm  pre- 
emption claims,  (3)  prevent  states  from  selling  lauds  at  higher 
rates  than  the  minimum  price  of  the  public  domain,  (4)  re- 
strict the  locations  to  lands  subject  to  private  entry  at  the 
time  of  the  passage  of  the  act,  and  (6)  give  to  the  territories 
the  right  to  tax  the  lands  to  be  selected  by  the  states.  These 
shining  baits  failed  to  catch  the  delegate  from  Minnesota. 

"Sir,"  said  Mr.  Sibley,  replying  to  the  plausible  pretense,  "I  wouldnot 
gire  a  farthing  for  all  the  limitations,  restrictions,  and  guarantees  you  can 
crowd  into  this  ])ill.  If  the  lands  are  once  transferred  to  the  states,  the 
same  majority  that  passes  this  measure  will  be  found  ready,  when  occasion 
offers,  to  scatter  all  these  limitations  and  guarantees  to  the  winds  of  heaven, 
and  forbid  the  territorial  authorities  from  imposing  any  tax  upon  such  lands. 
I  will  venture  the  prediction  that  these  lauds  will  l)e  managed  without  re- 
gard to  any  previous  contract  or  agreement  with  the  federal  government,  and 
without  the  lea.st  reference  to  the  interests  of  the  individual  states.  The 
actual  Hcttlcr  will  find  himself  under  a  foreign  jurisdiction,  and  I  turu  with 
abhorrence  from  any  project  which  would  tend  to  place  him  in  so  humili- 
ating a  j>OHiti()n." 


HON.  HENEY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  189 

Mr.  Sibley  resisted  the  bill  on  the  grounds  (1)  that  it  cre- 
ated an  invidious  distinction  between  the  states  and  the  ter- 
ritories; (2)  that  it  would  delay  the  speedy  admission  of 
territories  into  the  Union,  as  states;  (3)  that  it  would  engen- 
der heart-burnings  and  internal  strifes;  (4)  that  it  was  unjust 
to  the  pioneer;  (5)  that  the  land  states  refused  to  allow  any 
grants  of  public  lands,  within  their  own  limits,  to  be  made  to 
other  states;  (6)  that  the  reasons  these  states  alleged  for  their 
resistance  hold  good  as  well  for  the  territories;  (7)  that  it  is 
wrong  for  Congress  to  transfer  to  a  state  the  title  to  lauds  in 
another  state,  and  equally  so  to  transfer  to  the  same  state  the 
title  to  lands  in  the  territories;  (8)  that  Minnesota  will  resist 
the  scheme  with  all  the  power  at  her  command;  (9)  that  Ore- 
gon, and  all  the  territories,  will  do  the  same,  and  (10)  that 
this  whole  matter  of  providing  for  the  indigent  insane,  worthy 
as  the  object  is,  legitimately  belongs  to  state  jurisdiction,  and 
the  federal  government  has  no  right  to  engage  in  any  projects 
of  the  kind. 

These  positions  were  maintained  with  great  earnestness 
and  warmth,  and  it  was  in  this  discussion,  perhaps  more  than 
in  any  other,  Mr.  Sibley  gave  full  rein  to  his  power  of  unspar- 
ing utterance.  Friendly  to  the  object  sought  to  be  accom- 
plished, the  relief  of  the  insane,  and  even  willing  that  the 
government  should  do  something  in  that  behalf,  if  it  so  in- 
sisted, he  proposed,  as  counter  methods  to  those  formulated  in 
the  bill,  two  different  schemes;  (1)  "that  the  proceeds  of  the 
sales  of  the  first  10,000,000  acres  of  public  lands  be  equitably 
divided  among  the  states  for  the  relief  of  the  insane,"  or  (2) 
' '  that  the  land  states  be  allowed  to  select  their  distributive 
share  of  the  10,000,000,  within  their  own  limits,  and  issue 
scrip  to  the  other  states  in  proportion  to  the  amount  they  may 
be  entitled  to  receive,  to  be  sold  but  not  located  by  them.  This 
scrip  would  sell  in  the  market  for  the  same  price  as  the  laud 
warrants,  and  the  money  be  realized  much  more  speedily  than 
if  the  land  itself  was  granted."  But  beyond  this  he  would 
not  go.  He  showed  that  twenty-one  of  the  states  had  no  lands 
in  their  limits  that  would  be  deemed  ".sM/YoftZt"  for  the  object 
specified;  that  of  these,  fifteen  would  come  to  Minnesota  to 
"spy  out  the  land;"  that  more  than  six  out  of  the  ten  mil- 
lions of  acres  would  be  selected  here;  and  that  war  would 
begin.  "I  would  be  glad,"  said  he  "to  know  with  what  pro- 
priety the  members  from  the  land  states  can  vote  for  such  an 


190  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

accumulation  of  evils  upon  Minnesota,  when  they  will  not 
entertain  a  proposition  that  another  state  shall  hold  one  acre 
of  public  land  within  the  confines  of  their  own  state.  Alas! 
sir, 

"  '  Tis  all  men's  office  to  speak  patience 

To  those  who  wring  under  the  load  of  sorrow; 
But  no  man's  virtue,  or  sufficiency, 
To  he  so  moral  when  he  shall  endure 
The  like  himself.' 

Minnesotians  are  a  peaceable  and  law-respecting  people;  but 
it  may  be  well  imagined  that — after  they  have  penetrated  the 
wilderness,  endured  all  trials  and  sufferings  inseparable  from 
the  settlement  of  a  new  country,  made  sacrifices  of  every 
kind  in  advancing  the  interests  of  our  beautiful  territory,  and 
built  up  towns  by  the  labor  of  their  hands — they  would  not 
be  prej)ared  to  greet  with  much  cordiality  the  emissaries  of 
the  states  who  might  go  among  them  to  "spy  out  the  land" 
which  their  own  toil  had  made  valuable,  in  order  to  secure  its 
transfer  to  absentee  proiirietors,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  friends 
and  former  neighbors  of  the  pioneers  of  the  country!  God 
knows,  sir,  that  no  man  sympathizes  more  than  I  do  in  the 
sufferings  of  that  unhappy  class  of  beings,  —  the  insane, — 
and  no  one  would  be  disposed  to  make  greater  sacrifices  than 
myself  to  ameliorate  their  condition.  But,  I  know,  also,  that 
this  bill  is  not  the  way  to  such  an  end.  All  that  can  be  done 
by  my  gallant  friend  from  Oregon,  and  myself,  to  resist  it, 
will  be  done.  And,  I  beg  leave,  in  the  name  of  the  peoiDle 
whose  interests  have  been  confided  to  my  keeping,  most  ^o\- 
QxuxAj  to  protest  against  its  passage.  I  invoke  the  aid  of  those 
representatives  who  are  opposed  to  the  exercise  of  doubtful 
powers  by  the  general  gcfp^ernment,  and  of  all  friends  of  the 
territories,  to  arrest  this  scheme  in  its  inception,  and  thus 
entitle  themselves  to  the  approbation  of  all  who  maintain  the 
doctrine  that 

'"Government,  thro'  high,  and  low,  and  lower, 
Put  into  parts,  doth  keep  in  one  consent, 
Congreeing  in  a  full  and  natural  close 
Like  music'  "^ 

Tt  is  hardly  iKuiessary  to  say  that  the  Bissell  bill  for  the 
indigent  insane  did  not  pass,  but  met  a  second  defeat  as  de- 

1  Glol.e,  Vol.  2.5,  p.  488. 


HON.  HENEY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  191 

cisive  as  the  first.  The  vigor  with  which  Mr.  Sibley  fought 
this  scheme,  so  laudable  in  its  aim,  so  plausible  in  its  pre- 
tenses, and  yet  so  dangerous  in  its  method,  was  due  to  the 
fact  that  he  had  looked  for  powerful  aid  from  the  Hon.  Mr. 
Hall  of  Missouri,  as  he  says,  "with  much  of  the  same  confi- 
dence that  the  Trojans  placed  in  Hector  when  they  were 
pressed  by  the  Greeks,"  but  was  "disappointed."  It  was 
due,  therefore,  to  the  blows  of  his  own  right  arm,  that  the 
objectionable  measure  was  repelled,  and  went  staggering  from 
the  house  never  more  to  be  heard  of  in  the  halls  of  Congress. 
But  there  were  other  laurels  in  reserve  for  Mr,  Sibley 
during  this  same  session  of  Congress.  Another  battle,  not 
less  severe  than  the  one  through  which  he  first  passed  to  his 
seat  in  Congress,  as  the  "delegate  from  Wisconsin,"  awaited 
him,  and  a  victory  not  less  complete,  though  won  at  greater 
risk.  May  21,  1852,  was  a  day  in  which  the  vital  interests  of 
Minnesota  trembled  in  the  balance.  The  question  was  whether 
the  five  roads,  for  which  appropriations  had  previously  been 
made  by  Congress,  in  the  Territory  of  Minnesota  should 
receive  further  appropriations  for  the  continuance  of  their 
construction,  or  the  work  be  discontinued  by  the  federal 
government,  and  the  burden  of  completion  thrown  upon  the 
territory.  In  this  debate  the  ablest  members  of  the  house 
participated.  The  bill  asking  $45,000  more  for  such  purpose 
had  passecl  to  its  second  reading,  and  the  gravest  objections 
were  arrayed  against  it,  on  both  economical  and  constitutional 
grounds.  First  of  all,  in  substance,  it  was  alleged  that  of  the 
$40,000  originally  appropriated  to  this  object,  not  a  dollar 
had  been  spent  as  yet  in  actual  construction,  while  nearly 
$13,000  had  been  applied  solely  to  surveys,  leaving  a  balance 
of  $22,000  unexpended.  Moreover,  large  contracts  had  been 
made  while  as  yet  large  portions  of  these  roads,  if  not  all  of 
some  of  them,  remained  still  unsurveyed,  and  experience  had 
shown  that,  to  make  appropriations,  in  advance  of  survey,  a 
large  balance  still  existing  to  the  credit  of  the  territory,  was 
only  an  unwise  legislation,  and  a  needless  consumption  of 
money.  Still  further,  it  was  useless  to  appropriate  $15,000 
here,  $10,000  there,  and  $20,000  somewhere  else,  instead  of 
the  whole  amount  at  once,  necessary  to  complete  the  roads, 
and  which  would  be  not  less  than  half  a  million  at  the  least. 
Additionally,  it  was  urged  that  Minnesota  Territory  had  be- 
come exorbitant  in  her  demands. 


192  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

The  graver  opposition,  however,  came  from  the  argument 
against  the  power  of  Congress  to  make  such  appropriations. 
The  bill  was  assailed,  heavily,  on  the  general  ground  of  the 
impolicy  of  the  federal  government's  making  appropriations 
for  any  internal  improvements,  whether  in  state  or  territory. 
The  two  great  political  parties  of  the  country  were  thoroughly 
divided  on  this  great  question.  The  Hons.  Messrs.  Houston 
of  Alabama,  Venable  of  Virginia,  Stanly  of  North  Carolina, 
Fowler  of  Massachusetts,  Brookes  of  New  York,  and  others, 
appealing  to  the  authority  of  James  Madison,  who,  in  the 
First  Congress  of  the  United  States,  denied  to  the  general 
government  the  power  of  making  appropriations  for  internal 
improvements  of  any  kind,  resisted  the  bill  on  the  ground  of 
its  unconstitutionality.  Even  conceding  that  Congress  had 
power  to  construct  military  roads,  yet  these  were  not  such, 
nor  anywhere  described  as  such.  The  departures  of  Congress 
from  the  Constitution  should  not  be  accepted  as  precedents 
for  further  infraction  of  that  instrument.  This  piecemeal 
legislation  for  the  purposes  proposed  was  simply  the  exten- 
sion of  the  "System  of  Internal  Improvements,"  in  its  most 
odious  form,  into  the  territories,  and  should  be  defeated  and 
abandoned  now.  There  was  no  possible  difference  between 
legislating  appropriations  for  five  general  roads  in  Minnesota 
Territory,  and  legislating  for  the  same  number  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, New  York,  Illinois,  Missouri,  or  Ohio.  To  deplete 
the  federal  treasury  for  improvements  in  rivers,  roads,  and 
bridges,  in  the  territories,  one  and  all,  was  no  way  different 
from  exhausting  it,  in  reference  to  the  states.  The  question 
was  purely  a  question  of  the  Constitution,  and  every  member 
of  the  house  well  knew  that  to  make  appropriation  of  the  fed- 
eral money  for  the  purposes  of  internal  improvement,  whether 
in  state  or  territory,  was  not  one  of  the  powers  ceded  by  the 
states  to  the  general  government.  More  than  all,  such  legis- 
lation opened  a  wide  door  of  temptation,  and  issued  a  broad 
card  of  invitation  to  'Mandsharks,  speculators,  railroad  cor- 
porations, and  companies  of  various  kinds,  to  besiege  the 
capitol  and  conspire  with  members  of  both  houses  of  Congress 
to  alienate  the  nation's  prosperity  to  unprincipled  monopo- 
lists, and  cede  to  states  and  territories,  under  the  plea  ol 
internal  improvements,  the  public  domain,  which  should  be 
sacredly  reserved  for  homesteads  of  the  actual  settlers  in  the 
territories." 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  193 

Once  more,  and,  as  usual,  the  lot  fell  upon  Mr.  Sibley  to 
sustain  the  whole  defense  of  the  bill,  and  bear  the  brunt  of 
the  whole  assault.  Save  a  few  unimportant  words,  by  one  or 
two  members  of  the  house,  and  a  kindly  strong  word  of  help 
from  the  Hon.  Mr.  Seymour  of  New  York,  the  whole  reply 
came  from  the  delegate  from  Minnesota.  The  points  of  his 
reply  were  these:  (1)  As  to  the  amounts  of  money  asked  for, 
they  were  less  than  the  war  department  and  the  officer  of  the 
topographical  bureau  and  the  government  engineer  had  esti- 
mated. And,  because  a  balance  existed  to  the  credit  of  the 
roads,  he  (Mr.  Sibley)  had  himself  asked  that  the  proposed 
a-ppropriations  should  be  reduced  nearly  one-half.  (2)  The 
roads  contemplated  are  an  absolute  necessity,  partly  military 
in  their  purpose,  and  mostly  to  aid  the  pioneer  in  reaching 
the  settlements  accorded  to  him  by  the  legislation  of  Congress. 
If  the  policy  of  granting  homesteads  to  the  settlers  in  the  ter- 
ritories is  a  good  one,  not  less  good  is  that  of  providing  the 
means  of  attaining  them.  (3)  The  construction  of  territo- 
rial roads  is  practically  and  essentially  a  part  of  the  great 
system  of  national  development  to  which  the  pre-emption  laws 
pertain,  affording  facilities  for  rapid  settlement  in  the  West, 
and  ought  not  now  to  be  abandoned.  (4)  The  Territory  of 
Minnesota  is  inhabited  by  the  largest  and  most  warlike  tribes 
of  Indians  on  the  North  American  continent,  and  these  roads 
are  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  settlers.  Moreover,  if 
the  government  will  but  grant  one-half  what  it  costs  to  keep  an 
army  on  the  Northwestern  frontier,  the  pioneers  would  take 
care  of  themselves,  against  any  and  all  enemies,  without  ex- 
pense to  the  government.  (5)  The  construction  of  these  roads 
will  be  the  means  of  saving  large  sums  of  money  to  the  general 
government,  annually  spent  in  transportation  of  supplies  to 
its  military  posts  and  Indian  agencies. 

And,  now,  as  to  the  constitutionality  of  these  appropria- 
tions, Mr.  Sibley,  while  asserting  his  fealty  to  old  and  time- 
honored  democratic  principles,  even  the  principles  of  Jeffer- 
son, and  Madison  as  well,  and  opposing  rigorously  the  new 
and  objectionable  scheme  of  "  Internal  Improvements, "  called 
apart  of  the  ^^  Great  American  System  ^^^  felt  bound  to  chal- 
lenge the  judgment  of  the  honorable  gentlemen  who  had  com- 
bined so  strongly  and  so  resolutely  to  oppose  this  measure. 
And  (1)  in  reply  not  only  to  the  honorable  member  from 
Alabama,  but  to  all,  he  would  humbly  submit,  that  if  these  gen- 


194  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

tlemen  did  not  base  their  arguments  against  the  bill  on  consti- 
tutional grounds  entirely,  they  could  urge  no  other  reasonable 
objection;  and  if  they  did  base  their  argument  on  constitutional 
grounds,  the  argument  could  only  fail,  since  no  such  grounds 
existed.  (2)  From  the  organic  relation  of  the  general  govern- 
ment to  the  territories,  it  was  evident  that  Congress  had  the 
power  to  make  the  appropriations  asked  for.  "The  govern- 
ment," said  Mr.  Sibley,  "is  the  sole  great  land  proprietor  in 
the  territories,  and  bound  by  every  consideration  of  equity 
and  justice  to  make  its  domain  accessible,  by  means  of  roads, 
to  those  it  invites  to  settle  there.  How,  sir,  can  your  lands  be 
sold,  if  the  immigrant  cannot  reach  them"?  Gentlemen  will 
certainly  not  take  the  ground  that  the  people  of  the  territories 
shall  make  their  own  roads  and  those  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment likewise!"  (3)  From  the  uniform  practice  of  the  gov- 
ernment. "For  fifty  years  past.  Congress  has  uniformly  ap- 
propriated for  works  of  this  kind.  The  territories  are  placed 
by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  under  the  direct 
legislation  of  Congress,  and  to  Congress  the  pioneers  have  ever 
looked  for  legislative  aid.  By  means  of  congressional  grants  of 
money  in  their  behalf,  rather  than  in  behalf  of  the  govern- 
ment's own  domain,  every  territory,  grown  to  be  a  powerful 
state,  has  been  assisted  in  its  small  beginnings,  and  Minnesota 
must  now  be  made  the  exception."  (4)  From  the  clear  distinc- 
tion between  such  legislation  as  is  here  proposed  for  the  "ter- 
ritory," and  that  which  the  so-called  "American  System  of 
Internal  Improvements"  proposes  for  the  "states."  From 
the  foundation  of  the  government  the  Democratic  party  has 
ever  resisted  the  system  of  internal  improvements,  and  from 
the  foundation  it  has  as  constantly  advocated  "territorial 
appropriations."  There  is  no  parallel  between  the  relation  of 
the  states  and  the  territories  to  the  general  government.  The 
former  have  attained  to  their  majority;  the  latter  still  are 
minors  and  under  the  immediate  supervision  of  parental  care. 
The  general  government  is  bound  to  assist  them.  "The  terri- 
tories," said  Mr.  Sibley,  "have  invariably  received  liberal 
grants  from  Congress,  for  such  i)urposes  as  this,  and,  ////  noiv, 
no  attenii)t  has  ever  yet  been  made  to  connect  them  with  any 
system  of  internal  improvements  in  the  states.  The  distinc- 
tion is  too  broad  and  too  ])ali)able  to  require  anything  to  be 
said  on  the  snl)ject.  The  J)('mocratic  party,  to  which  we  be- 
long, has  never  held  the  doctrines  advanced  by  certain  gentle- 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  195 

men  of  that  party  on  this  floor.  It  has  always  been  liberal  in 
grants  to  territories.  *  *  *  The  two  great  parties  of  the 
country  have  indeed  divided,  on  the  question  of  so-called 
internal  improvements,  but  never  on  the  constitutionality  of 
'territorial  appropriations,'  and  the  attempt  now  made  to 
confound  these  different  kinds  of  legislation,  ignore  the  uni- 
form practice  of  the  government,  and  apj)eal  to  party  differ- 
ences, is  but  an  effort  to  invoke  a  party  spirit  whereby  the  bill 
before  the  house  may  be  endangered  and  defeated."  (5)  From 
the  "modesty"  of  Minnesota,  in  her  requests,  the  appropria- 
tions ought  to  be  granted.  ' '  Minnesota,  "said  Mr.  Sibley,  ' '  asks 
for  no  expensive  lighthouses  or  harbor  appropriations,  and 
has  the  right  to  expect  Congress  to  be  generous  with  her,  in 
regard  to  the  construction  of  her  roads  and  improvement  of 
her  rivers.  Minnesota  never  has,  and  never  will  take  undue 
advantage  of  your  liberality.  As  an  illustration  of  our  mod- 
esty, sir,  in  that  respect,  I  can  point  you  to  the  fact  I  have 
adverted  to  that  this  bill  provides  for  only  one-half  of  the 
amount  estimated  for  by  the  department,  and  I  will  be  frank 
enough  to  say  that  I  do  not  believe  we  should  have  received 
anything  had  I  pressed  for  the  whole  amount  mentioned  in 
those  estimates.  I  conclude  by  assuring  the  committee  of  the 
whole  that  the  money  is  wanted,  now^  and  I  am  satisfied  it  will 
be  economically  and  properly  disbursed."  ^ 

The  final  conflict  occurred  June  8,  1852,  when  the  bill  was 
put  upon  its  passage,  and  the  Hon.  Mr.  Stanly  of  North 
Carolina  made  one  last  effort  against  it,  on  the  ground  that 
the  legislation  sought  was  "partial  and  one-sided,"  "unjust 
to  other  territories,"  and  that  the  bill  should  be  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Public  Lands,  to  share  the  same  fate  with 
other  bills,  in  the  provision  of  some  general  system  of  appro- 
priation which  the  country  was  expecting  the  committee  to 
make.  Otherwise,  the  continual  drain  upon  the  treasury 
by  the  territories  would  soon  leave  nothing  to  the  states  for 
sea-coast,  harbor,  and  river  improvements,  or  fortifications, 
or  tariff.  The  earnest  appeal  of  Mr.  Stanly  was  promptly 
met  by  Mr.  Sibley,  who  replied  that  he  had  not  come  to  Con- 
gress to  discuss  any  merely  "abstract  right  of  Congress  to 
make  appropriations  of  money  for  roads  in  the  territories," 
but  to  insist  on  "the  practice  of  the  government  from  the 
beginning."     "And,"  said  he,  "I  beg  leave  to  state  to  the 

1  Globe.  Vol.  24,  Part  2,  pp.  1450-1455. 


196  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

gentleman  from  North  Carolina  that  the  Territory  of  Minne- 
sota has  never  received  one  acre  of  land,  and  never  asked  for 
one,  except  what  was  given  her  for  educational  purposes. 
She  has  never  asked  for  anything  unreasonable."  Such  his 
closing  words  on  the  so  sharply  debated  question.  With  the 
eye  of  a  general  he  saw  the  situation,  and  with  the  skill  of  a 
parliamentarian,  knowing  the  critical  moment  had  come,  he 
added,  "And  now,  sir,  with  this  statement,  and  knowing  that 
the  house  will  not,  under  any  circumstances,  confound  the 
system  of  internal  improvement  in  the  states  with  these  terri- 
torial appropriations,  I  move  the  previous  question  on  the  pas- 
sage of  the  hilV^  It  was  a  venture!  Everything  was  haz- 
arded! The  motion  was  seconded,  the  main  question  ordered, 
the  yeas  and  nays  demanded,  the  result  showing  yeas  85,  nays 
83,  a  majority  of  two!  But  the  bill  was  passed,  and  Minne- 
sota's five  roads  and  the  appropriation  of  $45,000  saved.  The 
senate  concurred  with  the  house  the  ensuing  session,  and  also 
passed  the  bill. 

In  any  account  of  the  actions  of  Mr  Sibley  in  Congress, 
his  noble  stand,  though  unsuccessful,  in  behalf  of  the  starving 
Indians  of  the  Northwest,  and  the  discussion  evoked  by  his 
amendment  to  the  Indian  appropriation  bill,  may  not  be 
passed  by  in  silence.  It  was  July  17,  1852,  the  bill  above 
mentioned  being  open  for  amendment,  that  Mr.  Sibley  rose 
and  offered  the  following,  the  sum  being  first  fixed  at  $100,- 
000,  but  now  modified  to  $50,000,  viz.,  that  Congress  appro- 
priate "for  the  subsistence  of  Indians  of  any  tribe  within  the 
limits  of  the  United  States,  who  may  hereafter  be  in  a  starv- 
ing condition,  to  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  secre- 
tary of  the  interior,  $50,000;  provided,  that  in  no  case  shall 
any  portion  of  said  sum  be  paid  out  unless  upon  reliable  infor- 
mation made,  to  the  secretary  of  the  interior,  of  the  existence 
of  such  a  state  of  suffering  among  the  Indians  as  is  contem- 
plated by  tliis  clause."  A  whole  quiver  of  arrows  was  at 
once  drawn,  and  shot,  in  rapid  flight,  at  the  proposition,  the 
Hon.  Mr.  Phelps  of  Missouri  twanging  the  first  from  his  bo\7, 
and  followed  by  i-cpresentatives  from  various  other  states. 
The  objiictions  were  these  in  the  main:  (1)  That  such  appro- 
priation w;is  unauthorized  by  law;  (2)  that  already  we  spend 
$800,000  annually  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians;  (3)  that  the 
Indian  <lei)artnient  has  not  asked  for  it;  (4j  that  Congress  has 
no  reliable  testimony  as  to  the  alleged  condition  of  starvation 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  197 

amoDg  the  tribes;  (5)  that  to  pass  the  appropriation  is  to  set 
a  precedent  for  the  support  of  the  Indians  in  general;  (6)  that 
it  is  a  proposition  "to  feed  wild  Indians  who  support  them- 
selves by  robbing  and  plundering  emigrant  trains,  a  premium 
offered  to  uncivilized  men  to  plunder,  tomahawk,  and  scalp 
our  defenseless  women  and  children;"  (7)  that  there  is  no  law 
regulating  the  conduct  of  the  disbursing  officer  in  such  a 
case;  (8)  that  we  have  Indian  agents  in  the  field,  who,  if  such 
a  condition  of  starvation  existed,  would  have  reported  the 
same  to  the  government;  and  (9)  that  such  philanthropy  as  is 
shown  in  the  amendment  by  the  delegate  from  Minnesota 
ought  at  once  to  be  exploded. 

Curious  enough  were  the  varied  modifications  made  to 
the  amount  specified,  ranging  all  the  way  from  $100,000  to  $1! 
—  first,  $100,000;  next,  $50,000;  next,  $1,000;  next,  $1;  next, 
$5,000;  next,  $20,000;  next,  $54,000;  next,  $56,000;  the  mo- 
tions made  for  the  sake  of  a  speech,  then  successively  with- 
drawn, until  the  amendment  by  Mr.  Sibley  was  left  unmodi- 
fied to  await  the  final  vote.  Not  merely  Minnesotians,  but 
every  lover  of  humanity,  will  be  interested  in  the  recital  of 
Mr.  Sibley's  effort  in  behalf  of  the  dying  red  man,  his  wife, 
and  his  children. 

In  reply  to  all,  Mr.  Sibley  maintained  (1)  that  the  face  of 
the  bill  itself,  making  already  an  appropriation  of  "$10,000 
for  provisions  for  the  Indians,"  proved  an  existing  law  war- 
ranting such  appropriation;  (2)  that  within  the  last  few 
months,  fifty  or  more  individuals  of  the  tribes  had  perished 
from  actual  starvation,  and  from  year  to  year  the  suffering 
has  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  whole  bands  of  Indians 
have,  through  exhaustion  from  starvation,  been  deprived  of 
locomotion;  (3)  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  government  to  bring 
succor,  from  its  abounding  treasury,  to  the  aboriginal  tribes 
whose  land  we  have  made  our  own,  and  who  are  perishing 
now  from  actual  want;  (4)  that  the  disbursement  of  the  money 
is  sacredly  guarded,  and  not  to  be  spent  except  in  the  case 
stated ;  it  is  not  a  fund  for  the  support  of  the  poor,  but  a  gra- 
tuity for  the  relief  of  the  dying;  (5)  that  the  government 
placed  no  restrictions  on  the  secretary  of  the  interior  in  ref- 
erence to  his  disbursement  of  its  appropriation  for  mission- 
aries to,  and  schools  among,  the  Indians,  but  confided  all 
to  his  wise  discretion;  (G)  that  there  is  not  an  officer  in  the 
Indian  department  that  would  not  hail  with  delight,  and  com- 


198  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

mend,  such  an  appropriation;  (7)  that,  although,  this  moment, 
no  official  document  is  found  at  the  Indian  office  showing  the 
starving  condition  of  the  Indians,  yet  he  (Mr.  Sibley)  pre- 
sented letters  from  reliable  sources,  upon  which  his  state- 
ments were  based,  and  that,  moreover,  from  his  own  knowl- 
edge, he  could  testify  to  the  extreme  suffering  in  many  of  the 
Indian  tribes;  and  that  every  cousideration  of  humanity 
called  for  a  sj)eedy  and  effective  response  to  the  cry  of  the 
suffering  from  whom  life  was  passing  away  for  want  of  food. 
The  moral  sense  of  the  best  people  in  the  land  demanded  it. 

"Sir,"  said  Mr.  Sibley,  warming  to  his  theme,  "the  gentleman  Irom 
Missouri  has  stated  that  this  amendment  is  offering  a  sort  of  premium  to 
wild  Indians  to  scalp  and  tomahawk  defenseless  emigrants.  I  will  say  to 
that  gentleman,  sir,  that  he  must  be  aware  of  the  fact  that  the  very  reason 
why  those  Indians  have  become  so  desperate  in  their  attacks  upon  the  lives 
and  property  of  the  whites  who  are  passing  to  California  and  Oregon,  is  be- 
cause the  action,  or  rather  non-action,  of  the  government  has  absolutely 
reduced  them  to  the  necessity  of  providing  themselves  with  the  means  of 
subsistence  by  the  commission  of  these  outrages.  Has  not  their  country 
been  made  a  thoroughfare  for  all  the  people  who  choose  to  pass  through  it, 
with  or  without  their  consent?  Has  not  the  game  which  furnished  the 
principal  food  for  these  poor  wretches  been  destroyed  by  you,  or  driven  off, 
and  the  Indians  thereby  rendered  desperate  ?  Has  the  government  provided 
against  the  inevitable  result  of  such  a  state  of  things  ?  Sir,  the  gentleman 
has  made  a  great  mistake  in  his  assertion  that  the  passage  of  this  amendment 
will  be  virtually  offering  these  Indians  a  premium  to  commit  depredations. 
It  will  be  attended  with  precisely  the  contrary  effect.  As  to  non-informa- 
tion at  the  Indian  office,  it  is  impossible  that  your  Indian  agents  should  be 
cognizant  of  everything  that  is  passing  amongst  the  Indians  at  a  distance  of 
hundreds  of  miles  from  them.  They  must  depend  upon  the  reports  of  mis- 
sionaries, or  traders,  residing  near  them.  I  know  that  great  suffering  is  en- 
dured l)y  the  Indians  of  the  Northwest,  and  I  presume  the  same  scarcity  of 
food  exists  elsewhere,  in  Oregon,  New  Mexico,  California,  or  among  the 
root-diggers  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  I  have  been  induced  to  present  my 
amendment,  that  the  proper  authorities  may  have  the  means  at  command  to 
relieve  any  such  extremity  of  distress.  And,  now,  having  discharged  what 
I  conceive  to  be  my  duty,  the  fate  of  the  proposition  must  be  decided  by 
the  house.  The  facts  are  before  you,  and  the  hare  possihilily  of  starvation 
being  endured  by  any  within  the  boundaries  of  this  reimblic  should  be 
guarded  against  without  delay.  If  the  Indians  do  not  need  relief,  the  money 
will  remain  in  the  treasury.  If  they  do  need  relief,  God  kno\vs  that  this 
Congress  ought  not  to  withhold  it  from  them."^ 

There  are  times  when  even  good  men,  and  pious,  feel  some- 
what profane,  and  Nature  i:)uts  on  her  own  fires,  and  the 
blood  bc^gins  to  boil,  and  a  sensation,  as  of  ants  creeping  from 

1  Globi',  V.,1.  21,  Tarl  .'f,  pp.  1820,  1827. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  199 

toe  to  scalp,  is  experienced.  There  are  times  when  ordinary- 
language  is  too  poor  to  express  the  indignant  protest  the 
moral  sense  awakens  against  the  conduct  of  men  who,  dead  to 
every  feeling  of  humanity,  become  guilty  of  moral  abomina- 
tions more  atrocious  than  the  outrages  against  which  they 
affect  to  exclaim.  That  the  thrilling  appeal  of  Mr.  Sibley 
should  have  proved  powerless  to  move  the  house  to  extend 
its  hand  of  relief  to  dying  men,  women,  and  children,  whose 
lands  the  government  had  taken  by  force,  and  whom,  by  the 
lust  for  territorial  expansion,  and  national  power,  it  had  re- 
duced to  homelessness  and  poverty,  and  maddened  to  despera- 
tion by  a  thousand  wrongs,  is  one  of  the  black  stains,  rather 
one  of  the  red  stains,  that  can  never  be  effaced  from  the  page 
of  American  history.  The  atrocity  of  the  argument  that  the 
Indian  must  be  exterminated  unless  consenting  to  wear  our 
form  of  civilization;  that  the  general  government  has  no  au- 
thority to  relieve  distress  in  its  own  peculiar  domain;  that  it 
must  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  wild  man's  cry,  and  that  of  his 
wife  and  famishing  children,  for  bread;  and  that,  if  affording 
relief,  it  would  be  establishing  a  precedent  to  feed  and  sup- 
port all  the  idle  and  lazy  poor  of  the  continent,  speaks  vol- 
umes of  shame  for  the  men  who  used  it.  The  United  States 
could  vote,  ^^ without  estimates''^  by  any  department,  $5,000,000, 
to  relieve  the  starving  Irish,  and  the  victims  of  earthquakes 
in  Central  America  could  obtain  instant  relief.  The  cry  of 
want  wafted  across  the  ocean,  or  the  gulf,  could  be  heard,  for 
political  effect,  but  the  wild  man's  moan,  the  dying  agonies 
of  those  whom  the  all  devouring  rapacity  of  the  government 
had  driven  from  the  graves  of  their  sires,  and  in  whose  heart 
a  rankling  revenge  had  been  left,  must  be  hushed  in  death, 
rather  than  heard  and  relieved! 

Mr.  Sibley's  exertion,  however,  was  not  without  its  effect. 
It  kindled  fire  in  more  than  one  representative,  and  brought 
from  Joshua  E.  Giddings  a  high  compliment,  saying,  "My 
heart  has  responded  to  every  sentiment  that  has  fallen  from 
the  lips  of  the  gentleman  from  Minnesota."  The  accom- 
plished Mr,  Venable  from  Virginia,  supported  Mr.  Sibley  in 
a  most  eloquent  appeal,  ''Sir,"  said  he,  addressing  the 
speaker,  ' '  God  punishes  crimes,  and  leaves  to  governments 
and  nations  to  be  the  ministers  of  their  own  chastisements. 
Ammon,  Moab,  Edom,  and  Amalek  have  been  swept  away  in 
his  wrath.     Other  nations  have  experienced  the  same  fate, 


200  ANCESTEY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

and  the  agitations  of  the  civilized  world  indicate  the  progress 
of  similar  dealings  on  the  part  of  Heaven.  I  desire,  if  pos- 
sible, to  avoid  the  cup  of  wrath  which  I  fear  is  in  store  for 
us,  as  a  people,  for  the  wrongs  inflicted  on  this  unhappy  race. 
I  do  not  blame  them  for  declining  civilization  at  the  hands 
of  their  enemies  and  oppressors.  The  civilization  which 
leaves  the  perishing  Indian  to  die,  and  withholds  bread, 
deserves  to  be  rejected  by  them,  I  shall  vote  for  bread  for 
these  Indians,  and  in  doing  so  I  shall  feel  that  I  have  done 
my  duty."  Similarly,  the  Hon.  Messrs.  Stanton  of  Tennessee, 
and  Durkee  of  Wisconsin,  supported  Mr.  Sibley. 

But,  vain  was  all  the  noble  effort  in  behalf  of  the  suffering 
and  dying  red  man.  The  vote  upon  Mr.  Sibley's  amendment 
stood  yeas  41,  nays  76,  to  the  eternal  disgrace  of  the  men  who 
responded  in  the  negative  to  such  an  appeal  of  humanity  and 
philanthropy.  All  the  brighter,  however,  glowed  the  dia- 
dem on  the  brow  of  the  delegate  from  Minnesota.  If  he 
failed  in  carrying  his  amendment,  he  did  not  fail  in  his  duty 
toward  both  God  and  man,  nor  fall  short  of  a  record  that 
day,  of  which  his  children,  his  constituents,  and  the  now 
State  of  Minnesota,  may  well  feel  proud,  and  the  lustre  of 
which  will  not  pale  while  the  "Star  of  the  North"  shines, 
unclouded,  in  the  firmament  of  the  National  Union. 


The  second  session  of  the  Thirty-second  Congress  was 
opened  December  6, 1852,  forty-five  senators  and  one  hundred 
and  eighty-eight  representatives  being  present,  and  closed 
March  3,  1853.  The  constitution  of  both  houses  of  Congress 
was  substantially  the  same  as  during  the  previous  session. 
The  public  excitement,  in  reference  to  the  question  of  slavery, 
still  continued,  waxing  more  intense,  all  the  more  that,  since 
the  passage  of  the  "Compromise  Bill,"  the  "Fugitive  Slave 
Law"  was  announced  as  a  finality,  the  two  great  political 
parties  of  the  nation  liaving  met,  the  Democratic  at  Balti- 
more, the  Whig  at  Philadelphia,  the  former  resolving  to 
"resist,"  the  latter  to  "discountenance,"  all  further  agitation 
of  th<i  suy)ject,  whether  in  or  out  of  the  halls  of  Congress. 
The  opening  of  the  second  session  of  the  Thirty-second  Con- 
gress was,  consequently,  a  peaceful  one,  the  lull,  however, 
before  the  coming  storm. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  201 

Eegardless  of  all  political  contentions,  and  standing  aloof 
from  all  collisions,  intent  only  in  seeking  the  territorial 
development  and  welfare  of  Minnesota,  Mr.  Sibley  devoted 
his  attention  and  energies  to  the  completion  of  the  work 
begun  by  him,  determined,  in  his  own  mind,  not  to  be  a  can- 
didate for  future  re-election.  He  had,  as  a  non-partisan 
citizen,  laid,  by  his  unwearied  labors,  the  foundation  of  a 
great  state,  and  desired,  for  reasons  satisfactory  to  himself, 
not  indeed  to  abandon  the  political  school  whose  doctrines, 
as  to  the  administration  of  the  government,  he  cordially 
accepted,  but  to  abide  free  from  the  heated  and  bitter  ani- 
mosities which  now,  more  than  ever,  began  to  divide  the 
dearest  friendships,  and  sunder  the  most  loyal  constituencies. 
Not  to  mention  a  variety  of  resolutions  offered  by  himself, 
and  a  number  of  memorials  and  petitions  of  inferior  moment 
in  the  history  of  his  career,  presented  to  the  house,  Mr.  Sib- 
ley, January  4,  1853,  gave  notice  of  his  purpose  to  introduce 
two  bills,  viz.,  (1)  a  bill  granting  to  Louisiana,  Arkansas, 
Missouri,  and  Iowa,  as  states,  and  to  Minnesota  Territory, 
the  right  of  way,  and  a  portion  of  the  public  lands,  "for  the 
construction  of  a  railroad  from  New  Orleans  to  the  northern 
boundary  of  said  territory,  with  a  branch  to  the  Falls  of  St. 
Anthony;"  and  (2)  a  bill  making  appropriations  "for  the 
removal  of  obstructions  in  the  Mississippi  river  above  and 
below  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  and  in  the  Minnesota  river. " 
As  the  purest  and  best  of  public  men  are  never  beyond  the 
venom  of  public  detraction,  and  the  governor  of  the  territory 
had  been  openly  charged  with  the  misappropriation  of  funds 
designed  for  the  conduct  and  execution  of  Indian  treaties, 
Mr.  Sibley,  conscious  of  the  governor's  rectitude,  caused  a 
resolution  to  be  introduced  into  the  senate,  to- wit,  that  "the 
Committee  on  Indian  Affairs  be  instructed  to  inquire  into 
the  falsity  or  correctness  of  the  public  allegations,"  in  refer- 
ence hereto,  and  be  "authorized  to  send  for  persons  and 
papers."  February  12,  1853,  he  presented  the  memorial  of 
one  hundred  and  eighty-two  citizens  of  Pembina  county,  in 
Minnesota  Territory,  praying  for  the  establishment  of  a  mili- 
tary post  at  St.  Joseph,  "for  protection  against  attacks  of 
Sioux  Indians,  and  against  incursions  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  into  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  in  defiance  of  exist- 
ing laws."     In  connection  with  this,  he  presented  a  petition 


202  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

from  the  same  as  above,  praying  ''for  the  negotiation  of  a 
treaty  extinguishing  the  Indian  title  to  lands  in  the  valley  of 
the  Eed  Elver  of  the  Xorth." 

Among  the  various  measures  passed  by  Congress  in  rela- 
tion to  Minnesota  Territory,  during  this  session,  were  (1) 
various  amendments  offered  by  Mr.  Sibley  to  the  civil  and 
diplomatic  bill,  whereby  important  pecuniary  advantages  ac- 
crued to  the  territory,  the  senate  concurring  in  the  same;  (2) 
the  house  bill  for  the  further  appropriation  of  money  to  aid 
in  the  completion  of  the  public  buildings  of  the  territories  of 
Minnesota  and  Oregon;  (3)  the  house  bill  for  the  support  of 
schools  in  fractional  townships;  and  (4)  the  house  bill  for  the 
survey  of  the  Mississippi  river  above  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony. 
In  these  legislations  the  senate  likewise  concurred.  The  bill 
for  the  purchase  of  the  "  Half-breed  Tract,"  at  Lake  Pepin, 
was  lost,  on  account  of  legal  informalities  attending  the  sig- 
natures of  the  petitioners,  and  other  technicalities.  The  bill 
for  the  indigent  insane  was  defeated  by  the  folly  of  men,  who, 
not  content  to  allow  the  states  the  ' '  proceeds ' '  of  certain 
lands,  or  "land  scrip,"  equal  in  value  to  the  distributive  share 
of  land  for  each  state  where  no  public  domain  existed,  sought 
to  secure  the  appropriation  of  the  land  itself  for  the  purpose 
specified.  The  effort  of  Mr.  Sibley,  however,  to  protect  the 
public  lands,  on  the  one  hand,  and,  on  the  other,  to  relieve 
the  indigent  insane,  was  only  another  proof  of  his  wisdom 
and  humanity,  not  appreciable  by  many  with  whom  he  had  to 
deal. 

The  appropriations  made  by  Congress,  during  this  session, 
to  Minnesota  Territory,  were,  for  surveys  in  the  territory, 
$45,000;  for  continuance  and  construction  of  roads,  $45,000; 
for  salary  of  governor,  judges,  secretary,  and  superintendent 
of  Indian  affairs,  $9,700;  for  contingent  expenses  of  the  terri- 
tory, $1,000;  for  compensation  and  mileage  of  members  of  the 
territorial  legislature,  officers,  clerks,  etc.,  $20,000;  for  terri- 
torial library,  $500;  for  completion  of  public  buildings,  $25,- 
000;  making  a  total  of  $145,.500.  This  amount,  added  to  the 
amount  already  appropriated  to  the  territory  since  Mr.  Sib- 
ley's entrance  into  Congress,  viz.,  $140,873.43,  makes  a  grand 
total  of  $285,073.43,  secured  in  five  sessions  of  Congress,  for  a 
constituency  whose  census  numbered,  at  first,  not  over  5,000 
souls.     This  was  certainly  vigorous  and  influential  work,  and 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  203 

a  result  achieved,  at  every  step  of  the  way,  by  persistent 
struggle,  against  prejudices  at  times  wellnigh  insuperable, 
and  odds  wellnigh  overwhelming. 

Of  the  remarks  and  speeches  of  Mr.  Sibley  made  during 
this  session  of  Congress,  his  utterances  on  the  great  project 
his  mind  had  conceived,  of  a  national  railroad  extending  from 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  northernmost  boundary  of  the  Terri- 
tory of  Minnesota,  traversing  the  states  of  Louisiana,  Arkan- 
sas, Missouri,  Iowa,  and  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  present 
him  as  one  among  the  foremost  men  of  his  times,  in  his  concep- 
tion of  the  oncoming  greatness  of  the  country's  expansion, 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  of  the  needs  of  its  almost  miraculously 
increasing  population,  and  of  the  incalculable  benefits,  not 
only  to  states  through  which  it  might  pass,  but  to  the  nation 
at  large.  The  scheme  of  such  a  gigantic  highway  running 
from  South  to  North  was  only  paralleled  by  the  magnificence 
of  the  scheme  of  a  Pacific  railway  running  from  West  to  East, 
and  strapping  the  continent  together  with  its  iron  bands.  The 
bill  of  which  he  had  given  notice  January  4,  1853,  asking  the 
right  of  way  and  donation  of  public  lands  for  the  road  from 
a  point  opposite  New  Orleans,  to  Pembina,  provided  for  a 
right  line  of  1,500  miles  in  length,  or,  allowing  for  deviations 
and  deflections,  1,800  miles  in  all,  of  which  500  should  lie  in 
Minnesota,  275  in  Iowa,  350  in  Missouri,  300  in  Arkansas,  and 
370  in  Louisiana,  the  total  grant,  in  alternate  sections,  10 
miles  each  side  of  the  road,  and  situated  100  miles  west  of  the 
Mississippi,  being  12,032,000  acres  of  land,  equal,  at  market 
price,  to  $15,040,000;  —  a  road  which,  if  constructed,  would 
bisect  all  the  great  lines  of  contemplated  routes  from  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific  to  the  great  Father  of  Waters,  and  be  the 
basis  of  a  series  of  connections  and  intercommunications 
North,  South,  East,  West,  and  between,  in  every  direction, 
without  a  parallel  anywhere  in  the  world,  opening  to  com- 
merce and  trade,  through  twenty  degrees  of  latitude,  a  region 
of  country  unsurpassed  in  fertility,  and  boundless  in  resources 
of  mineral  wealth.  It  was  a  magnificent  scheme,  born  of  a 
mind  which,  though  modest,  and  self-depreciating,  was  yet 
capable,  as  such  minds  are,  of  great  things.  Tenui,  conamur 
grandia! 

The  arguments  by  which  Mr.  Sibley  supported  this  grand 
project  were  (1)  that,  as  yet,  the  immense  region  west  of  the 
Mississippi  had  been  comparatively  neglected;  (2)  that  the 


204  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

natural  waterways  were  insufficient  for  the  development  of 
the  country,  and  artificial  lines  of  commerce  were  an  impera- 
tive necessity  for  the  people,  and  a  measure  of  public  economy 
for  the  government;  (3)  that,  not  only  the  power  of  Congress 
under  the  Constitution,  but  the  duty  of  Congress,  to  dispose 
of  the  public  lands  for  the  benefit  of  the  greatest  number  of 
citizens,  without  injury  to  any,  was  unquestioned,  and  that 
the  greatest  of  statesmen  and  strictest  of  constructionists  had 
so  maintained;  (4)  that  the  West  would  not  long  endure  the 
recent  doctrine  of  the  older  and  Atlantic  states,  viz.,  that  the 
government  was  fast  becoming  too  liberal  to  the  younger 
states,  and  that  no  aid  should  be  given  to  the  latter  unless  the 
older  received  an  equivalent  for  their  votes  in  favor  of  such 
assistance,  but  would  soon  assert,  and  make  good,  its  right  to 
reward  for  the  great  toil  and  sacrifice  of  its  people,  in  reclaim- 
ing the  wilderness,  and  turning  the  forest  into  a  fruitful  field; 
(5)  that  the  present  time  was  most  favorable  to  the  undertak- 
ing, the  financial  condition  of  the  country  flourishing,  the 
stocks  in  the  market  unusually  high,  capital  everywhere  seek- 
ing investment,  millions  of  treasure  locked  up  in  banking 
establishments  waiting  employment,  and  all  things  auspicious 
for  railroad  enterprises;  (6)  that  the  accomplishment  of  a  work 
like  this  would  be  less  difficult  than,  and  equally  important 
with,  the  scheme  of  the  Pacific  railroad  from  >5an  Francisco 
to  Memphis,  Tennessee,  with  its  several  branches  terminat- 
ing at  St.  Louis,  Dubuque,  New  Orleans,  and  Matagorda  bay, 
Texas;  a  project  involving  a  main  trunk  line  of  2,000  miles, 
or,  including  its  branches,  5,115  miles,  requiring  an  appro- 
priation of  97,536,000  acres  of  land,  at  a  market  value  of 
$121,900,000. 

These  condensed  reasons,  given  almost  verbatim,  in  the 
terms  of  Mr.  Sibley's  speech,  covered,  in  the  main,  his  argu- 
ment in  behalf  of  the  road,  upon  constitutional,  economical, 
and  interstate,  as  well  as  national,  grounds.  Then,  proceed- 
ing to  depict  the  practical  advantages  of  the  enterprise,  if 
completed,  he  indulged  his  chaste,  simple,  and  flowing  style 
of  exin-ession,  in  the  most  beautiful  manner,  as  was  always 
his  wont: 

"  Imagination,"  said  lie,  "can  hardly  depict  the  magical  effect  which 
tlio  completion  of  this  work  would  have  in  developinj^  the  resources  of  the 
"West,  and  in  adding  to  the  aggregate  wealth  of  the  nation.  The  valuable 
fisheries  of  Lake  Hupcrior  would  lie  increased  in  a  ratio  tenfold,  were  a 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  205 

market  thus  opened  to  the  South.  The  pineries  of  Minnesota  and  Wiscon- 
sin would  send  forth,  annually,  their  inexhaustible  supply  of  building 
materials  to  the  valley  below.  The  iron,  salt,  and  coal  of  Missouri,  and 
the  copper  and  lead  of  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  and  Minnesota,  could  thereby  be 
exchanged,  with  advantage,  for  the  products  of  the  rich  and  "Sunny  South." 
The  immense  tracts  of  public  lands,  scores  of  miles  each  side  of  the  railroad, 
now  with  no  purchaser,  because  of  their  remote  position  from  the  water- 
courses, would  be  taken  up,  at  once,  by  an  industrious  and  enterprising 
class  of  settlers,  admirably  calculated,  as  the  whole  of  that  region  is,  for  the 
support  of  a  dense  population."^ 

Looking  at  the  result  from  a  military  point  of  view,  he 
continued: 

"  If  the  longitudinal  line  of  communication  along  that  border  were  per- 
fected by  means  of  a  railway,  the  government  could  control  the  savage  tribes 
with  much  greater  facility  than  now  can  be  done,  and  with  less  than  half 
the  force  now  requisite  for  that  purpose.  The  same  reasons  might  be  urged 
as  one  of  the  necessary  preparations  against  the  occurrence  of  a  foreign  war. 
I  know,  sir,  that  many  regard  that  as  an  almost  impossible  event.  I  am 
not  one  of  that  number,  for  I  can  well  imagine  that  we  may  be  forced  to 
resort  to  that  so  much  to  be  deprecated  alternative,  at  any  time,  to  defend 
the  honor,  or  the  rights,  of  the  nation.  Grave  senators  have  assured  us 
that  our  foreign  relations  are  in  a  delicate  position,  and  I  am  bound  to  be- 
lieve they  are  not  alarmists,  or  actuated  by  any  vain  spirit  of  boasting,  when 
they  make  that  declaration.  I  am  not  in  favor  of  filibustering  expeditions, 
but  I  do  trust  that  the  high  position  of  this  republic  will  be  sustained  and 
vindicated,  and  the  Monroe  doctrine  strictly  adhered  to,  even  at  the  hazard 
of  a  war  with  France,  England,  or  any  other  power.  And  I  feel  assured 
that  the  incoming  administration  will  enforce  this  cardinal  policy  of  the 
Democratic  party,  indeed,  sir,  I  may  say,  of  the  whole  American  people. 
Should  hostilities  follow,  we  ought  to  be  prepared  to  repel  the  instrusion 
upon  our  soil,  of  an  enemy's  force,  with  the  whole  power  of  the  country. 
Were  the  projected  railway  from  North  to  South  completed,  it  would  en- 
able the  government  to  concentrate,  in  a  few  days,  thousands  of  the  best 
marksmen  in  the  world,  at  any  point  on  our  Southern  coast  that  might  be 
threatened  by  a  foreign  foe. "  - 

The  last  appeal  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Sibley,  as  he  closed  this 
exhaustive  speech,  so  full  of  information,  and  so  grand  in  con- 
ception, was  in  behalf  of  the  bill  he  introduced  previously, 
asking  the  right  of  way  and  donation  of  lands  for  a  railroad 
from  the  rapids  of  the  St.  Louis  river  of  Lake  Superior  to  St. 
Paul,  with  branches  to  St.  Anthony  (Minneapolis)  and  Still- 
water: 

' '  That  bill, ' '  said  he,  ' '  is  now  on  your  calendar,  and  I  wish  briefly  to 
state  the  necessity  that  exists  for  its  passage.  The  distance  between  the 
termini  is  about  two  hundred  and  sixty  miles,  and  much  of  the  country 

1  Globe,  Vol.  27,  Appendix,  pp.  188, 189. 

2  niid.,  p.  189. 


206  ANCESTKY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

through  which  the  road  woukl  pass  is  very  favorable  for  settlement.  The 
great  object  is  to  open  a  communication  between  the  waters  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence and  the  Mississippi,  and  it  is  one  of  immediate  interest  to  every  state 
bordering  on  the  latter  river,  and  upon  the  lakes.  Congress  granted  750,000 
acres  of  land,  at  its  last  session,  to  the  State  of  Michigan,  to  enable  it  to 
make  a  canal  around  the  Falls  of  St.  Mary.  Complete  the  measure  of  your 
liberality,  and,  I  may  say,  of  your  justice,  by  contributing  to  the  infant  but 
enterprising  Minnesota,  from  your  ample  resources,  your  proijortion  of 
means  necessary  to  build  a  railway  between  the  northern  and  southern  por- 
tions of  our  territory,  through  what  is  now  little  better  than  a  trackless 
wilderness.  We  who  live  on  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  are  now  abso- 
lutely cut  off  from  communication  with  our  own  lake  coast,  for  want  of  a 
railroad.  To  reach  that  part  of  our  territory,  without  resorting  to  the  primi- 
tive mode  of  conveyance  by  bark  canoes  and  portages,  we  must  descend  the 
Mississippi,  nearly  four  hundred  miles,  to  Galena,  thence  to  Chicago,  and 
through  the  whole  length  of  Lakes  Michigan  and  Superior,  and  a  part,  of 
Lake  Huron.  In  other  words,  we  must  travel  more  than  1,500  miles  to  visit 
a  portion  of  our  territory,  not  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  dis- 
tant, in  a  direct  line.  The  disadvantage  to  the  government  and  to  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Minnesota,  in  view  of  the  need  of  frontier  defense,  and  transporta- 
tion of  troops,  and  also  of  provisions  for  your  Indian  agencies,  is  manifest. 
Complete,  then,  the  measure  of  your  regard  for  the  peojile  I  have  the  honor 
to  represent  on  this  floor.  Give  us  your  aid  to  free  us  from  our  diificulties, 
and  I  can  safely  promise  that  Minnesota  will  soon  be  knocking  at  your  doors 
for  admission  into  the  Union,  with  a  population  inferior  to  none  of  her  sis- 
ters, in  virtue,  intelligence,  enterprise,  and  devoted  attachment  to  true 
democratic  principles,  and  to  the  government  under  which  we  live.  "^ 

Such  was  the  earnest,  practical,  eloquent  appeal  of  the 
delegate  from  Minnesota,  in  behalf  not  only  of  his  great  pro- 
ject of  a  national  highway  from  the  Gulf  to  the  British  line, 
but  in  behalf  of  the  immediate  needs  of  his  own  constituency; 
nor  anywhere,  in  coming  days,  let  the  debates  in  Congress  be 
searched  and  read  with  whatever  care,  will  the  future  his- 
torian of  Minnesota  be  able  to  find  a  cause  more  cogently 
pleaded,  or  couched  in  terms  more  direct,  simple,  select,  or 
graceful,  or  pervaded  by  a  spirit  more  i>ure  from  selfish  ends, 
or  supported  by  an  intellect  more  broad,  comprehensive,  and 
grand.  The  rights  and  needs  of  the  territories,  the  expansion 
and  the  possibilities,  nay  more,  the  anticipated  actualities,  of 
the  rapidly  developing  civilization  of  the  country,  and  the 
h<)V«!ring  dangers  arising  from  foreign  envy  of  American 
gr(!atness,  as  also  from  Indian  hostilities,  all  loomed  before 
him,  evincing  the  grasp  and  scope  and  magnitude  of  his 
thought,  and  finding  utterance  in  a  quality  of  wisdom,  atllu- 

1   'ilolx;,  Vol.  27,  Appunilix,  j..  100. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  207 

ence  of  dictioD,  and,  at  times,  tenderness  of  feeling  as  well  as 
strength  of  expression,  and  beauty  of  imagination,  which, 
combined  with  the  dignity  of  his  personal  presence  and 
courtly  manner,  won  for  him  golden  opinions  from  all  who 
heard  him.  If  he  did  not  succeed  in  all  he  attempted  to  do, 
it  was  not  for  want  of  ability,  tact,  or  influence,  but  alone 
from  the  temper  of  the  times,  the  narrowness  of  men,  and 
a  partisan  spirit  which  never  could  soar  higher  than  the 
thought  of  a  local  need,  or  sectional  prejudice,  and  whose 
utmost  creed  was  freedom  for  the  hlack  man,  deceit  or  exter- 
mination for  the  red  man,  and  tardy  justice  to  the  pioneering 
loMte  man. 

The  last  act  of  Mr.  Sibley  in  Congress  was  his  third  ap- 
peal, March  3,  1853,  in  behalf  of  a  poor  woman  whose  hus- 
band had  fallen  in  the  service  of  the  government,  the  presen- 
tation of  the  petition  of  Emily  Hove,  and  the  request  that 
the  senate  bill  for  her  relief  might  at  once  be  taken  from  the 
table  of  the  house  and  passed,  granting  her  the  half-pay  of 
captain  for  five  years. 

With  this  act  of  justice  and  humanity  Mr.  Sibley  closed  his 
congressional  career.  Judged  by  his  official  record,  he  stands 
as  one  of  the  ablest,  purest,  and  most  faithful  of  public  ser- 
vants, devoting  his  manhood,  talents,  attainments,  and  won- 
drous experience,  as  the  prince  of  pioneers,  to  the  service  of 
his  constituents,  through  five  consecutive  terms  of  Congress, 
from  December  3, 1848,  to  March  3,  1853,  four  years  and  three 
months,  under  the  successive  administrations  of  Presidents 
Polk,  Taylor,  and  Fillmore.  His  congressional  career  was 
one  perpetual  struggle,  from  first  to  last,  in  behalf  of  Minne- 
sota. Nothing  that  he  won  for  the  territory  was  gained  with- 
out a  battle.  Not  a  bill  was  passed  without  opposition,  nor  a 
benefit  secured  without  a  running  conflict.  From  his  entrance 
to  his  exit,  he  succeeded,  by  the  power  of  his  personal  pres- 
ence, his  commanding  talent,  parliamentary  skill,  and  the 
loyalty  of  certain  influential  senators  and  representatives 
whose  friendship  and  help  he  had  conciliated  to  his  own  ad- 
vantage. None  stood  more  resolutely  and  unflinehiugly  in  the 
gap  than  he,  none  more  quickly  appreciated  a  crisis  in  debate, 
and  none  wielded  more  effectively,  or  frequently,  the  ''pre- 
vious question "  against  his  opponents.  And  yet,  nothing  re- 
mained to  him  as  a  source  of  unmixed  pleasure  more  delight- 
ful than  this,  that,  in  all  his  conflicts,  however  warm,  at  times, 


208  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

as  they  were,  nothing  ever  occurred  to  mar  the  individual 
friendships  or  social  relations  that  existed  between  himself 
and  those  against  whom  he  was  called  to  contend.  The  record 
of  his  congressional  career  is  strewn  with  the  highest  compli- 
ments, publicly  made,  and  from  all  parties,  to  his  personal 
candor,  love  of  truth,  fairness  in  debate,  frankness,  ability, 
manliness,  moral  courage,  and  high  integrity.  Even  his  oppo- 
nents could  say  that,  on  the  score  of  personal  courtesy  alone, 
he  deserved  every  dollar  he  demanded  for  his  territory.  And 
how  much  Minnesota  owed  to  his  faithful  exertions,  perhaps 
only  the  early  settlers  are  aware.  To  him,  beyond  all  other 
men,  Minnesota  is  indebted  for  the  name  of  the  state;  for  the 
change  of  the  name  of  St.  Peters  river  to  Minnesota  river; 
for  the  location  of  the  capital  of  the  state  at  St.  Paul  and  not 
at  Mendota,  his  own  home;  for  the  opening  of  the  first  roads 
in  her  territorial  life;  for  the  passage  of  the  bill  that  gave  her 
a  name  and  a  place  at  all  in  history;  for  appropriations  to 
build  her  capitol,  territorial  prison,  and  to  lay  the  foundation 
of  a  territorial  library;  for  the  first  movement  toward  the  pro- 
vision of  relief  for  the  indigent  insane;  for  a  double  portion 
of  land  devoted  to  educational  purposes;  for  two  townships 
of  land  for  the  use  and  support  of  a  university,  secured  to 
her  while  in  her  territorial  condition;  for  a  new  land  office, 
and  new  land  district;  and  the  first  movement  for  a  railroad 
connecting  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  and  Lake  Superior; 
and  for  appropriations  amounting  nearly  to  $300,000.  This 
is  more  than  presiding  at  the  birth  of  a  territory.  It  is  giv- 
ing birth  to  the  territory  itself  Viewed  in  whatever  light, 
the  Hon.  Henry  Hastings  Sibley,  underlies,  in  his  person  and 
work,  the  whole  civil  and  political  superstructure  of  the  State 
of  Minnesota,  and  this,  without  the  least  disparagement  to 
the  just  merits  of  others  with  whom  he  was  associated,  will 
be  accorded,  in  future,  as  already  it  has  in  the  past,  by  his 
fellow  citizens,  and  tlie  unanimous  voice  of  all  pioneers. 
And,  whether  we  view  him  as  battling  to  secure  his  seat  in 
Congress,  and  the  rights  of  a  constituency  sought  to  be  de- 
prived of  government  and  representation  alike;  or  as  secur- 
ing tlie  passage  of  tlie  bill  establisliing  the  territory;  or  as 
resisting,  on  every  side,  all  partisan  inducements  in  the  trust 
committed  to  his  charge;  or  as  providing  for  the  defense  of 
the  fiontier,  and  the  protection  of  the  wives,  children,  and 
homes  of  the  early  settlers,  from  hostile  Indian  attack;  or  as 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  209 

pleading  for  pre-emption;  or  defending,  with  eloquent  tongue, 
the  rights  of  the  pioneer,  and  championing  the  cause  of  the 
red  man  against  a  government  loaded  with  guilt,  he  will  ever 
stand,  in  the  history  of  Minnesota,  as  the  man  on  whose  shoul- 
ders, more  than  on  the  shoulders  of  all  others,  rests,  as  on  a  deep 
foundation  stone,  the  proud  edifice  that  now  bears  the  name 
of  the  "State  of  Minnesota,"  and  on  whose  brow  glitters  the 
^'Star  of  the  North"  with  a  light  not  less  effulgent  than  his 
own. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MB.  SIBLEY'S  POST-CONGRESSIONAL  CAREER,  1853-1860. —  HIS  PRESENCE 
NEEDED  IN  THE  TERRITORIAL  LEGISLATURE.  —  GIGANTIC  SCHEMES  OF 
ROBBERY. —  ELECTED  TO  THE  HOUSE.  —  CORRUPTION  OF  THE  LEGISLA- 
TURE.—  MINNESOTA  &  NORTHWESTERN  RAILROAD  COMPANY. —  ENOR- 
MOUS CHARTER  AND  FRANCHISE.  —  GOVERNOR  GORMAN'S  PROTEST, 
THOUGH  SIGNING  THE  BILL.  —  MR.  SIBLEY'S  FORESIGHT  BEFORE  LEAV- 
ING CONGRESS. —  "  PROVISO  "  TO  THE  MINNESOTA  LAND  BILL.  —  POPU- 
LAR INDIGNATION  AGAINST  THE  SPECULATORS  AND  THE  LEGISLA- 
TURE.—  GRAND  RAILROAD  EXCURSION.  —  BOOM,  JUNE,  1854. — MAG- 
NATES OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  ST.  PAUL,  CLERICAL  AND  LAY.  —  THE 
FEASTING  AND  DANCING. —  SUNDAY,  JUNE  13,  1854. —  RAILROADS  AND 
THE  MILLENNIUM. —  INVITATION  BY  ROBERT  OWEN  TO  MEET  IN  LON- 
DON TABLED  ON  MOTION  OF  BIR.  SIBLEY. —  FRAUD  IN  THE  NATIONAL 
CONGRESS  IN  RELATION  TO  THE  MINNESOTA  LAND  BILL. —  INVESTI- 
GATION.—  GOVERNOR  GORMAN'S  FORMAL  PROTEST. —  VETO  OF  THE 
BILL. —  LEGISLATURE  DEFIES  CONGRESS. —  AMENDED  BILL  PASSED 
OVER  THE  governor's  VETO.  —  BRIBERY.  —  DYNAMITE  DOCUMENT  PRE- 
PARED BY  MR.  SIBLEY,  EXPOSING  THE  FRAUDS  IN  THE  LEGISLATURE. 
—  SENT  TO  CONGRESS. —  OPINIONS  OF  EMINENT  LAWYERS  IN  THE 
STATES.  —  POWER  OF  CONGRESS  OVER  THE  TERRITORIES.  —  THE  CHAR- 
TER ANNULLED  BUT  THE  GRANT  OF  LAND  SAVED. —  POPULATION  OP 
MINNESOTA  IN  1857,  150,000  TO  200,000. —  SEEKS  ADMISSION  AS  A 
STATE. —  ENABLING  ACT. — CONVENTION  TO  FORM  STATE  CONSTITUTION. 
— INTENSE  EXCITEMENT. — SLAVERY  QUESTION.  —  KANSAS. — NATIONAL 
CONGRESS.  —  SCENES  IN  ST.  PAUL.  —  STRUGGLE  TO  OBTAIN  CONTROL  OF 
THE  CONVENTION.  —  TACTICS. —  DIVISION.  —  TWO  CONVENTIONS  THE  RE- 
SULT, REPUBLICAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC. —  MR.  SIBLEY  PRESIDENT  OF 
THE  DEMOCRATIC  CONVENTION.  —  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  STATE  OF 
MINNESOTA  IS  THE  ADOPTED  REPORT  OF  A  JOINT  COMMITTEE  OF  CON- 
FERENCE.—  RATIFIED  BY  CONGRESS. —  MINNESOTA  ADMITTED  AS  A 
STATE.  —  GRIEVOUS  DELAY.  —  TERRITORIAL  LEGISLATURE  EMBAR- 
RASSED.—  MR.  SIBLEY  ELECTED  THE  FIRST  GOVERNOR  OF  THE  STATE 
OF  MINNESOTA.  —  HIS  INAUGURAL. —  DENUNCIATION  OF  BASE  CAL- 
UMNY.—  JOHN  SHERMAN  OF  OHIO. —  THE  GREAT  PANIC  OF  1857. — 
FINANCIAL  RUIN  TO  MINNESOTA.  —  SALUTARY  LESSON. —  THE  STATE 
RAILROAD  BONDS. —  CELEBRATED  "FIVE  MILLION  LOAN"  TO  CERTAIN 
COMPANIES. —  THE  CONSTITUTION  ALTERED. —  THE  PEOPLE  INSANE. — 
HIS  EXCELLENCY,  GOVERNOR  SIBLEY'S  FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE  TO 
TIIK  LKOIHLATURE.  —  THE  HONOR  AND  CREDIT  OF  THE  STATE  TO  BE 
PKf)TKCTEI). —  GOVERNOR  SIHLEY  DECLINES  TO  ISSUE  THE  BONDS  UN- 
LKSS  tJl'ON   CONDITION   OF   DEPOSIT  OF   FIRST   MORTGAGE   BONDS,  AND 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  211 

PRIORITY  OF  LIEN  SPECIFIED.  —  REASONS  ASSIGNED. —  MANDAMUS 
GRANTED  BY  SUPREME  COURT,  JUDGE  FLANDRAU  DISSENTING. — BONDS 
ISSUED.  —  THE  OPINION  OF  JUDGE  FLANDRAU.  —  WARFARE  UPON  THE 
BONDS. —  SHAMEFUL  DISASTER. —  DEFAULTING  COMPANIES.  —  WRECK 
OF  THE  WHOLE  RAILROAD  SCHEME. — TARNISHED  HONOR  OF  THE  STATE, 

—  THE  REPUBLICAN  PRESS.  —  GOVERNOR  SIBLEY'S  CONDUCT. —  LAST 
ANNUAL  MESSAGE,  DECEMBER,  1859. —  "PESTILENCE"  BETTER  THAN 
"repudiation." — GOVERNOR  SIBLEY'S  RELATION  TO  THE  BONDS. — 
INFLUENCES  WHICH  MADE  THE  STATE  REPUBLICAN.  —  OTHER  INTER- 
ESTS THAN  THOSE  OF  RAILROADS. —  DEVOTION  OF  GOVERNOR  SIBLEY 
TO  THE  INTERESTS  AND  HONOR  OF  THE  STATE. —  HIS  CHARACTER  AND 
ADMINISTRATION  A  MODEL  FOR  HIS  SUCCESSORS. 

PHENOMENAL  CONDITION  OF  THE  WORLD  IN  1860-1862. —  SIGNS  OF  THE 
TIMES. — SPIRIT  OF  FREEDOM  REVOLUTIONIZING  STATES,  EMPIRES 
AND  CONSTITUTIONS.  —  FINAL  ANTAGONISM  OF  SLAVERY  AND  LIB- 
ERTY COME. —  OMENS.  —  CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY 
CHANGING  FRONT.  —  FREE  DISCUSSION.  —  GOVERNMENTS  SIFTED.  — 
"man  as  MAN." — FOUR  POLITICAL  PARTIES  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

—  THEIR  CREEDS. —  STRIFE  BETWEEN  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. — STATE 
SOVEREIGNTY. — EX-GOVERNOR  SIBLEY'S  ATTITUDE. — THE  CELEBRATED 
CHARLESTON  CONVENTION,  APRIL  23,  1860. —  CONDUCT  OF  EX-GOV- 
ERNOR SIBLEY. —  FAITHFUL  TO  DOUGLAS,  THE  FRIEND  OF  MINNE- 
SOTA.—  MEMBER  OF  THE  NATIONAL  COMMITTEE  ON  CREDENTIALS. — 
CONFLICT. — SOUTHERN  ULTIMATUM. —  SECESSION. —  BALTIMORE. —  EX- 
GOVERNOR  SIBLEY'S  LOYALTY  TO  THE  FLAG. 

The  period  of  Mr.  Sibley's  civil  and  political  career,  next 
following  his  retirement  from  Congress,  and  extending  to  the 
close  of  his  administration  as  governor  of  the  State  of  Min- 
nesota,— that  is,  from  March  4,  1853,  to  January  1,  1860,  a 
period  of  seven  years, — was  crowded  with  scenes  and  events 
not  less  important  to  the  territory  than  those  of  the  period 
preceding.  Eeturning  to  his  home  at  Mendota,  he  at  once 
gave  his  attention  to  his  private  affairs,  and  began  the  work 
of  closing  his  business  relations  to  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany of  which  he  was  still  the  head. 

The  condition  of  things  in  the  territory,  however,  was  such 
that  the  need  of  his  presence  in  the  legislature  was  universally 
felt.  As  might  be  expected,  in  the  almost  incredibly  rapid 
development  of  the  country,  gigantic  schemes  of  robbery  were 
on  foot,  plans  to  plunder  the  domain  of  the  pioneer,  and  to 
the  success  of  which  the  legislature  itself  was  sought  to  be 
subsidized,  and  who,  but  a  tried  and  trusted  leader,  could 
thwart  them  ■?  Induced  by  his  friends,  he  once  more  allowed 
his  name  to  go  before  the  people,  and  at  the  election,  October, 
1854,  was  returned  from  Dakota  county  as  a  member  of  the 


212  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 


Sixth  Territorial  Legislature.  This  testimonial  of  high  regard 
was  as  deserved  as  it  was  opportune.  The  hearty  election  of 
Mr.  Sibley  was  only  an  additional  mark  of  public  esteem,  and 
all  the  more  pleasing,  because  it  occurred  amid  new  political 
combinations,  the  conflicting  attitude  of  what  were  known  as 
the  "Fur  and  Anti-Fur  Companies,"  the  corruption  of  the  leg- 
islature by  the  influence  of  Eastern  railroad  capitalists,  the 
increasing  agitation  of  the  negro  question,  the  steps  toward 
the  formation  of  the  Eepublican  party,  the  ambition  of  men 
for  honors  in  the  territory,  and  the  schemes  of  men  to  secure 
a  seat  in  the  National  Congress;  — a  condition  of  things  that 
divided  friends  who  before  stood  firm  and  united. 

The  times  were  full  of  enterprise,  and  daring  unmatched 
in  the  previous  history  and  legislation  of  the  territory.  The 
fifth  session  of  the  legislature  met,  January  4,  1854,  in  the  new 
capitol  building,  and,  next  to  dead  of  night  following  the  last 
day  of  the  session,  March  4,  1854,  passed  an  act  incorporat- 
ing the  ^^ Minnesota  &  Northwestern  Railroad  Company,^ ^  with 
powers  and  franchises  of  Titanic  magnitude.  The  charter 
gave  to  the  company,  at  whose  head  stood  the  notorious  firm 
of  the  Messrs.  Schuyler  of  New  York,  a  title  to  all  the  lands 
that  had  been,  or  ever  after  might  be,  donated  by  Congress  to  Min- 
nesota for  railway  construction;  a  title,  in  fee  simple,  forever, 
to  a  body  of  stockholders,  almost  all  of  whom  were  non-residents 
of  the  territory.  The  excitement  was  intense.  Inch  by  inch, 
the  bill  had  been  battled,  throughout  the  whole  session,  by  a 
brave  minority,  and  was  passed  "an  hour  and  ten  minutes  be- 
fore the  time  fixed  by  law  for  adjournment,"  and  sent  to  the 
governor,  who,  contrary  to  expectation,  signed  it,  without  ex- 
amining its  details,  yet  under  protest,  saying,  ^' Heave  the  whole 
responsihiUly  upon  those  ivho  passed  it^  ^  It  was  petroleum  upon 
the  population,  and  the  Lucifer  match  that  touched  it  was  the 
fact  that  along  side  the  names  of  the  Schuylers,  Ketchum,  etc. , 
were  placed,  as  fellow  stockholders,  the  names  of  Gorman  and 
Kosser,  the  governor  and  secretary  of  the  territory,  without 
their  knowledge.  The  railroad  charter  became  a  political  is- 
sue, and  ordinary  corporations,  less  rich  than  Croesus,  stood 
aghast  with  amazement,  like  Egyjjtiau  enchanters  of  old,  when 
seeing  their  own  serpents  devoured  by  a  serpent  larger  than  all 
the  rest.  This  cliarter,  l)y  the  legislature  of  Minnesota,  passed 
March  4,  1854,  was  intended,  by  the  corporators,  to   ^^antici- 

1  Council  Journal,  1H54,  p.  301. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  213 

jpote"  the  passage  of  two  bills  then  pending  in  Congress,  grant- 
ing to  Minnesota  the  largest  donation  ever  made  to  any  terri- 
tory, viz.,  no  less  than  852,480  acres.  To  get  this  magnificent 
slice  of  the  public  domain  as  their  own,  and  forever,  was  the 
purpose  of  the  Minnesota  &  Northwestern,  and  the  explanation 
of  the  '^peculiar  pressure"  brought  to  bear  upon  the  legisla- 
ture. But,  "  in  vain  is  the  net  spread  in  the  eyes  of  any  bird." 
Mr.  Sibley,  ever  watchful  of  the  rights  of  the  people  of  the 
territory,  and  the  rights  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  jealous 
of  Eastern  capitalists,  and  of  their  designs  upon  the  young 
territory, — and  aided  by  Governor  Gorman, — quietly  efiected 
a  flank  march,  and  secured,  when  the  Minnesota  land  bill  was 
passed  in  the  house,  in  Congress,  June  20,  1854,  the  addition 
of  the  following  proviso,  viz.,  "The  lands  so  granted  to  said 
territory  shall  be  subject  to  the  disposal  of  any  future  legisla- 
ture, for  the  purposes  aforesaid,  and  for  no  other;  nor  shall 
they  inure  to  the  benefit  of  any  company  heretofore  constituted 
or  organized;" — thus  placing  the  grant  under  the  control  of  a 
future  legislature  of  the  territory  or  state,  and  expressly  ex- 
cluding all  corporations  heretofore,  or  already,  chartered  by 
the  legislature. 

It  is  both  interesting  and  important  to  digress  here  but  a 
moment.  The  indignation  of  the  people  of  the  territory  was 
arrested  for  a  short  time  by  a  scene  the  like  of  which  occurs 
but  once  in  the  same  generation,  perhaps  but  once  in  a  cen- 
tury. The  completion  of  the  Chicago  &  Rock  Island  railroad 
was  made  illustrious  by  a  "grand  railroad  excursion,"  as  a 
fitting  memorial  of  the  opening  of  the  line.  A  thousand  per- 
sons of  eminent  profession  and  high  standing,  from  all  parts  of 
the  United  States,  were  invited  to  "boom"  the  Northwest, 
and  making  Chicago  their  rendezvous,  excurse  westward, 
along  the  new  line,  to  Rock  Island,  where  five  large  steamers 
—  "as  far  excelling  in  splendor  the  barges  of  the  luxurious 
Cleopatra  as  did  those  the  birchen  canoe  of  the  Ojibwa"^ — 
stood  ready  to  bear  them  onward  to  the  city  named  in  honor 
of  the  "Great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles."  The  rolling  fumes 
from  the  smokestacks  of  the  steamers  that  plowed  the  waters, 
breast  abreast,  combining  and  soaring  high  in  the  air,  doubt- 
less reminded  more  than  one  entranced  imagination  of  the 
cloudy  pillar  that  guided  the  children  of  Israel  as  they  passed 
through  the  desert.     St.  Paul  was  reached  June  8,  1854, — 

1  Words  of  Dr.  Neill. 


214  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

three  weeks  before  the  Minnesota  land  bill  was  passed  by  the 
house,  in  Congress, — the  happy  corj)orators,  under  the  charter 
given  by  the  legislature,  blissfully  ignorant  of  the  whereabouts 
of  Mr.  Sibley,  and  the  "proviso"  to  be  added  to  the  bill.  All 
were  hilarious.  Among  the  Eastern  Magi, —  doctors,  divines, 
and  devotees  of  science, — who,  guided  by  the  ^^  Star  of  the 
North,''''  came  to  see  where  young  Minnesota  lay,  were  ex-Presi- 
dent Fillmore,  George  Bancroft,  Drs.  Gardiner  Spring,  Ver- 
milye,  and  Bacon,  Professors  E.  D.  Robinson,  and  Henry  B. 
Smith,  with  Professors  Gibbs,  Larned,  Silliman,  Parker,  and 
others,  from  ISTew  York,  Boston,  Yale,  Harvard,  and  various 
theological  and  academical  institutions  in  different  parts  of 
the  land;  coruscant  men  on  the  scroll  of  fame.  Minnehaha 
and  St.  Anthony's  falls  "done  up,"  the  happy  exjjlorers 
abutted  in  the  hall  of  the  house  of  representatives  in  the  new 
capitol  building,  and  discussed  a  magnificent  supper  where, 
but  three  months  before,  the  enormous  charter  was  born. 
Beneath  the  splendor  of  lights,  eating,  orating,  and  drinking 
(water),  and  next,  in  the  chamber  where  Justice  is  said  to 
hold  her  scales,  amid  music  and  dancing,  the  guests  pursued 
their  pleasure,  till  raven  midnight  bore  them  off  to  their 
steamers,  ready  to  start  and  return. 

The  exhilaration  was  great.  The  following  Sunday,  June 
13,  1854,  the  Rev.  E.  D.  Neill,  an  active  and  eminent  divine 
of  St.  Paul,  carried  away  by  the  glow  of  the  times,  preached 
a  sermon  ' '  On  Railroads,  and  Other  Modes  of  International 
Communication"  from  the  words  in  Isaiah,  40:3,  "The  voice 
of  him  that  crieth  in  the  wilderness!  Prepare  ye  the  way  of 
the  Lord!  Make  straight  in  the  desert  a  highway  for  our  God! 
Every  valley  shall  be  exalted,  and  every  mountain  and  hill  be 
made  low;  the  crooked  places  shall  be  made  straight  and  the 
rough  places  plain,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  be  revealed, 
and  all  flesh  see  it  together."  ^  He  enforced  the  great  truth 
that,  doubtless,  the  vision  Isaiah,  the  son  of  Amos,  saw  concern- 
ing Judah  and  Jerusalem,  in  the  days  of  Ahaz  and  Hezekiah, 
extended  beyond  the  Holy  Land,  the  Mediterranean,  and  Pil- 
lars of  Hercules,  and  that,  not  only  "the  Chicago  &  Rock 
Island,"  but  "the  Minnesota  &  Northwestern  Railroad,"  as 
well,  with  its  great  charter,  and  its  eye  on  the  land  bill, 
entered  within  the  range  of  the  prophet's  perspective.  Curi- 
ous enough,  the  great  socialist,  Robert  Owen,  about  the  same 

1  See  Neill's  History  of  Miiiiic:si)l;i  for  u  full  account,  pp.  595-007,  Fourth  Kdition. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  215 

time,  seems  to  have  caught  up  the  current  "opinion"  that  the 
millennium  comes  by  gradual  progress  through  human  means, 
and,  minus  the  Christianity,  sent  a  document,  dated  Novem- 
ber 4,  1854,  to  the  legislature  that  made  the  great  charter, 
entitled  "  The  Permanent  Happy  Existence  of  the  Human  Race, 
or  the  Commencement  of  the  Millennium  in  1855,"  a  document 
inviting  "all  governments,  religions,  classes,  sects,  and  par- 
ties, in  all  countries,"  to  meet  in  St.  Martin's  Hall,  London, 
Monday,  January  1,  1855,  and  also  to  the  "Great  Trades 
Meeting  of  Universal  Delegates,"  May  14,  1855,  to  introduce 
millennial  glory  ^^  without  revolution,  or  violence,  or  injury  to 
anyone,^ ^  but  ^'ivith  peace,  order,  wise  foresight,  and  lasting  bene- 
fit to  all!^^^  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  when  the  paper 
was  read  in  the  house  of  the  legislative  assembly,  Mr.  Sibley, 
having  some  doubts  as  to  the  railroad  method  of  preparing 
the  way  of  the  Lord,  moved  that  the  document  be  laid  upon 
the  table,  which  office  was  lovingly  done,  and  where,  ever 
since,  it  has  taken  its  rest  in  slumber  secure  and  undisturbed. 
To  return  from  this  digression.  June  20,  1854,  the  house 
of  representatives  at  Washington  passed  the  Minnesota  land 
bill,  with  the  proviso  alluded  to.  After  the  bill  had  gone  to 
the  senate,  the  discovery  was  made  that,  by  some  means  or 
other,  serious  alterations  had  occurred.  The  text  of  the  bill 
had  been  tampered  with.  In  the  effort  to  make  straight  a 
highway  for  God,  the  official  records  of  Congress  had  been 
made  crooked.  The  sanctity  of  the  national  legislation  had 
been  profaned  in  the  march  to  millennial  glory.  The  word 
"future"  had  been  stricken  out,  and  the  word  "or"  displaced 
to  make  room  for  the  word  "and."  And  thus,  the  bill  —  now 
reading  "heretofore  constituted  and  organized" — went  to  the 
senate.  By  the  sixteenth  section  of  the  bill  the  charter  be- 
came void,  unless,  by  July  1,  1854,  the  company  was  organ- 
ized with  a  full  board  of  directors.  The  alteration  of  "or" 
into  "and"  was  made  on  the  twenty-eighth.  The  senate 
passed  the  altered  bill  on  the  twenty-ninth.  July  1st  was  at 
hand,  and  to  organize  prior  to  the  passage  of  the  bill  was  to 
lose  all.  To  organize  after  that  event,  and  before  July  1st, 
was  a  "hot-haste"  affair,  a  matter  of  one  day's  notice !  And 
it  was  done,  the  perplexity  still  remaining  that,  even  though 
organized  after  the  bill  was  passed,  yet  they  were  constituted 


1  See  House  Journal,  Minnesota  Territory,  1855,  p.  134. 


216  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

before  it  was  passed !  In  this  way,  however,  the  Minnesota  & 
Northwestern  Railroad  sought  to  evade  the  proviso  wliich 
subjected  the  lands  to  future  legislation,  and  excluded  all 
companies,  whether  "constituted  or  organized  heretofore," 
from  the  benefit  of  the  same.  The  company  expected  to  hold 
the  lands  under  the  bill,  as  altered,  pleading  that,  though 
constituted,  yet  they  were  not  organized,  prior  to  the  passage 
of  the  bill.  Thus  they  hoped  to  escape  the  excluding  terms 
of  the  act  their  art  had  spoliated,  and  possess,  in  fee,  for  them- 
selves, 852,480  acres  of  the  public  domain,  with  as  much  more 
as  hereafter  the  liberality  of  Congress  might  grant  to  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Minnesota. 

Fraud  suspected,  the  house  of  representatives,  July  24th, 
appointed  a  committee  of  five  to  investigate,  and  report  to  the 
house.  The  committee  reported,  and,  amid  great  excitement, 
the  original  language  of  the  bill  was  restored.  This  being 
regarded  as  insufiBcient,  for  rebuke.  Congress,  by  joint  resolu- 
tion, August  4,  1854,  formally  "repealed"  the  whole  grant, 
and  "annulled"  the  charter. 

The  entire  country  was  agitated  over  the  disclosures  made. 
As  already  stated,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Sibley  was,  at  such  a  time, 
elected  to  the  ensuing  legislature  of  the  territory,  to  resist  the 
re-enactment  of  the  charter  by  men  in  the  legislature  defying 
the  National  Congress.  Enough  were  elected  to  make  sure 
this  desired  result,  had  some  not  dishonored  the  pledges  they 
had  given  to  the  people. 

January  3,  1855,  the  Sixth  Legislature  met,  and,  in  execu- 
tive session,  received  the  governor's  annual  message,  express- 
ing therein  his  strongest  protest  against  the  charter  of  the 
Minnesota  &  Northwestern  Railroad.  "We  look,"  said  he, 
"with  jealousy  upon  the  encroachments  of  capital  upon  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  people.  In  a  new  country,  we  will 
have  to  keep  eternal  vigilance,  or  this  powerful  adversary  to 
the  people's  lights  will  lay  hold  of,  and  bind,  the  infant  arms 
of  this  young  territory,  until  it  move  the  body  at  will.  The 
money  Icing  of  our  country  has  already  more  than  a  just  share 
of  influence  among  all  the  affairs  of  men,  and,  like  the  great 
waters  of  the  Mississippi,  bears  off  on  its  tide  every  impedi- 
ment to  its  i)rogress,  and  sinks  it  to  the  bottom."  In  spite 
of  a  hand-to-hand  struggle,  Mr.  Sibley,  and  a  faithful  few  at 
his  side,  battling  inch  by  inch  against  it,  an  act  supple- 
mentary to  amend  the  act  incorporating  the  Minnesota  & 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  217 

Northwestern  Eailroad,  was  passed  January  30,  1855,  by  a 
strictly  two-thirds  vote,  to  the  disappointment  and  indigna- 
tion of  the  people  of  the  territory.  Men,  sent  to  the  legisla- 
ture and  solemnly  pledged  to  vote  against  the  charter,  be- 
trayed their  trust  in  the  trying  hour.  The  same  influence 
that  procured  the  fraud  upon  the  records  of  Congress,  pro- 
cured the  defection  in  the  legislature.  February  1,  1855,  the 
governor  '' vetoed"  the  amended  and  re-enacted  charter. 
February  12th,  the  day  the  veto  was  laid  on  the  table.  Gov- 
ernor Gorman  wrote  to  the  Hon.  Mr.  Cutting  in  Congress,  com- 
mending what  Congress  had  done,  yet  asking  that  Congress 
might  save  the  land  grant  to  the  pioneers  of  Minnesota,  who 
ought  not  to  suffer  for  crimes  of  which  others  were  guilty. 
February  14th,  Mr.  Sibley's  motion  to  take  from  the  table  the 
bill,  the  veto,  and  the  message,  was  defeated.  February  15th, 
resolutions  of  defiance  to  Congress  were  introduced  into  the 
house,  assailing  the  proviso  in  the  organic  act  of  March  3,  1849, 
whereby  Congress  reserved  to  itself  the  right  to  disapprove 
territorial  legislation,  and  praying  for  the  repeal  of  the  same. 
February  16th,  Mr  Davis'  motion  to  take  up  the  bill,  veto, 
and  message,  was  again  defeated,  like  Sibley's,  by  a  two- 
thirds  vote.  Then,  February  17,  1855,  Saturday,  3  P.  m.,  the 
amended  and  re-enacted  charter  was  passed  by  the  same  two- 
thirds  once  more,  and,  the  senate  concurring,  the  offensive 
measure  became  a  law,  the  pledges  made  to  the  people  and 
the  governor's  objections  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

This  day  was  memorable  for  the  preparation  and  trans- 
mission to  Congress  of  a  document  drawn  by  the  Hon.  Mr. 
Sibley  in  behalf  of  himself,  the  brave  minority  of  one-third, 
and  the  people  of  Minnesota;  a  document  the  parallel  to 
which  for  fearless  and  burning  exposure  of  perfidy  and 
wrong,  is  perhaps  unknown  in  the  annals  of  any  territory  or 
state.  A  Damascus  blade,  like  the  sword  of  Saladin,  it 
cleaves,  at  a  stroke,  the  adversary's  head.  It  is  the  photo- 
graph of  a  man,  who,  in  an  adverse  hour,  when  crime  is  vic- 
torious, and  betrayal  is  prosperous,  knows  how  both  to  speak 
and  to  act.  It  shows  us  a  man  supported  by  the  conscious- 
ness of  rectitude,  the  courage  of  conviction,  the  panoply  of 
fact,  the  armor  of  right,  in  short  all  the  moralities  that  go  to 
make  up  a  man  unaccustomed  to  yield  to  numbers  or  to 
wrong,  much  less  to  treason  and  lies.  Beyond  all  question,  it 
is  his  own  production.     It  has  in  it  the  tone  and  the  tread  of 


218  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

a  lash-bearing  Ajax.  Its  "Whereases"  and  "Resolved"  are 
the  language  of  one  whom  money  could  not  seduce,  nor  threats 
intimidate,  nor  bribery  approach.  It  courts  no  smiles,  fears 
no  frowns,  and  shuns  no  responsibility.  It  speaks  the  truth, 
shames  the  devil,  and  dares  contradiction.  Reciting  the 
baseness  of  those  who  had  broken  the  trust  confided  to  their 
care,  it  asks  that  crimes  against  the  people's  rights  may  not 
deprive  them  of  the  same,  but  that  the  congressional  grant 
may  yet  be  preserved  to  them,  while  the  re-enacted  charter 
may  be  annulled  once  more,  and  all  connection  of  the  cor- 
porators with  the  grant  be  forever  terminated.  The  "  memo- 
rial" is  as  follows,  and  speaks  for  itself. 

MEMORIAL  OF  THE  MINORITY  OF   MEMBERS  OF  THE  MINNESOTA   LEGIS- 
LATURE. 


To  the  Honorable,  the  Senate  and  House  of  Bepresentatives  of  the  United  States 

of  America,  in  Congress  assembled: 
The  Memorial  of  the  undersigned  members  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  of 
the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  respectfully  represents:     That 

Whereas,  At  the  last  session  of  the  Legislative  Assembly,  a  charter 
was  granted  to  certain  corporators  therein  named,  most  of  whom  were  non- 
residents of  this  Territory,  under  the  name  and  style  of  "The  Minnesota 
and  North  Western  Railroad  Company,"  which  charter  contained  franchises 
and  privileges  of  so  unprecedented  a  character  as  to  excite  the  indignation 
of  the  people,  who  repudiated  its  provisions  by  the  election  of  members  of 
the  present  Assembly,  who  were  pledged  against  said  Act  of  incorporation, 
and  in  favor  of  a  memorial  to  your  Honorable  Body  to  disapprove  and 
annul  it; 

And  Whereas,  Among  those  thus  openly  and  publicly  pledged,  were  the 
five  members  of  the  House  from  the  Saint  Paul  District,  three  of  whom 
have  since,  as  your  memorialists  firmly  believe,  through  the  influence  of 
corrupt  means  used  by  the  said  Company,  or  its  agents,  been  induced  to 
disregard  the  solemn  obligations  incurred  by  them  previous  to  the  election, 
and  to  cast  tlieir  votes  in  favor  of  a  re-enactment  of  the  obnoxious  charter, 
with  amendments,  thereby  giving  to  the  friends  of  said  charter  sufficient 
force  to  override  the  Executive  veto,  by  a  bare  two-third  majority; 

And  Whereas,  By  the  two-third  vote  thus  obtained,  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  Minnesota  has  this  day  passed  an  Act  supplementary  to  the 
Act  amendatory  of  the  charter  of  said  Company,  without  giving  it  the  usual 
routine  of  legislation,  by  suspending  all  rules,  and  passing  it  through  to  a 
third  reading  witliin  fifteen  minutes  after  its  first  introduction  into  that  body, 
and  without  allowing  it  to  l)e  printed,  thus  giving  to  the  opponents  of  said 
bill  no  o]>j)ortunity  of  examining  its  provisions; 

And  Whereas,  The  wliole  course  of  the  Company  so  incorporated  has 
been  charJbterized  by  fraud  —  ]jy  forgery,  in  the  alteration  of  important 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  219 

words  iu  the  Congressional  Act  granting  land  to  Minnesota  for  railroad  pur- 
poses—  and  by  the  use  of  base  and  demoralizing  means  to  procure  the  re-en- 
actment of  a  charter  which  your  Honorable  House  of  Representatives  has 
previously,  without  a  dissenting  voice,  disapproved  and  annulled. 

And  Whereas,  For  a  further  proof  of  the  bad  faith  and  evil  designs  of  the 
aforesaid  Company,  your  memorialists  would  respectfully  refer  your  honor- 
able body  to  the  message  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  with  the 
accompanying  documents  from  the  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States, 
laid  before  the  House  of  Representatives  at  its  present  session,  touching  a 
certain  suit  commenced  in  the  name  of  the  United  States,  against  the  said 
Minnesota  and  North  Western  Railroad  Company,  with  reference  to  which 
no  comment  is  necessary  on  the  part  of  your  memorialists; 

And  Whereas,  The  majority  of  both  houses  of  this  Legislative  Assembly 
have  passed  resolutions  offensive  in  their  terms  to  your  honorable  body,  and 
defiant  of  its  authority,  not  only  without  the  assent  or  sanction  of  a  majority 
of  the  citizens  of  this  Territory,  but,  as  your  memorialists  sincerely  believe, 
iu  opposition  to  the  wishes  of  a  large  majority  thereof; 

And  Whereas,  We  regard  the  said  incorporated  Company  as  having 
brought  upon  Minnesota  undeserved  shame  and  disgrace  by  connecting  her 
name  with  a  fraudulent  alteration  of  your  records,  for  which  neither  she  nor 
any  considerable  number  of  her  citizens  should  be  held  responsible; 

And  Whereas,  We  are  convinced  that  the  sole  object  of  said  Company  is 
to  gain  possession  of  the  land  granted  by  your  honorable  body  for  railroad 
purposes,  by  any  means,  however  unscrupulous,  and  without  any  design  to 
act  in  good  faith  towards  the  Territory  or  general  government:  — 

Therefore,  Your  memorialists,  comprising  three  out  of  nine  members  of 
the  Council,  and  six  out  of  eighteen  members  of  the  House,  respectfully 
pray  that  your  honorable  body  will,  as  soon  as  practicable,  dissolve  all  con- 
nection between  this  Territory  and  the  Minnesota  North- Western  Railroad 
Company,  by  disapproving  and  annulling  the  charter  so  re-enacted  as  above 
set  forth,  with  all  the  amendments  thereto;  and  that  your  honorable  body 
will  not  hold  Minnesota  responsible  for  the  refractory  and  disrespectful  acts 
of  a  majority  of  its  present  Legislative  Assembly,  but  will  take  such  a  course 
as  will  secure  to  the  people  thereof  the  benefit  of  the  grant  of  land  made  by 
your  honorable  body  to  the  Territory,  by  act  of  29th  June  last,  and  repealed 
on  the  4th  August  following. 

S.  B.  OLMSTEAD,  PresH,      ) 

I.  VAN  ETTEN,  [  MemUrs  of  the  Council. 

NORMAN  W.  KITTSON,       j 

J.  S.  NORRIS,  Speaker,     )  Me^nhers  of  the  House  \^^^^^^^  ^-  C^^^' 

H.   H.  SIBLEY,  I  ^^'"^^^"-^ '7,"""*^^  JAMES  BEATTY, 

F.  ANDROS,  j    °J  representatives.    [^jllIAM  A.  DAVIS. 

St.  Paul,  February  17,  1855. 

This  memorial,  signed  by  the  minority,  reached  Congress 
in  time,  and,  with  other  influences  at  work,  saved  to  Minne- 
sota the  land  grant,  and  sundered  all  ties  between  it  and  the 
Minnesota  &  Northwestern  Eailroad.  The  original  lan- 
guage of  the  bill  was  restored,  and  the  refusal  of  the  senate, 


220  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

August  27,  1855,  to  concur  with  the  house,  secured  the  grant. 
"Whether  Congress  has  the  right  to  repeal  a  grant,  or  annul  a 
territorial  charter,  became  now  a  point  of  secondary  impor- 
tance. The  company  obtained  from  four  distinguished  law- 
yers, Hon.  E.  W.  Walworth,  G.  C.  Bronson,  Wm.  Curtis  Noyes, 
and  John  M.  Barbour,  the  ''opinion,"  September  1,  1854, 
that  a  legislature  can  give  a  title,  prospectively,  to  what  it 
does  not  possess,  that  neither  Congress  nor  the  legislature 
can  repeal  a  charter  once  granted,  and  that  the  company's 
title  to  the  lands  was  good.  ^    An  inspection  of  the  ''opinion," 

1  Opinion  of  Hon.  R.  H.  Walworth,  G.  C.  Bronson,  Win.  Curtis  Noyes,  and  J.  M.  Bar- 
bour, on  the  power  of  Congress  to  repeal,  etc.,  etc.    St.  Paul,  1854. 

[Note. —  The  four  following  questions  were  submitted  to  these  gentle- 
men, to-wit. : 

' '  First  —  Did  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  under,  or  by  virtue  of  the  first 
mentioned  act  of  Congress,  take  any,  and  if  so,  what,  right  or  interest  in 
the  lands  granted  by  Congress  to  the  said  territory,  or  any  right  whatever  ? 

^'Second  —  Did  the  Minnesota  &  Northwestern  Railroad  Company  take 
any,  and  if  so,  what,  rights  or  interests,  under  their  act  of  incorporation, 
the  first  mentioned  act  of  Congress,  and  the  organization  of  the  company? 

"  Third — Does  the  repealing  act  passed  by  Congress  impair  or  in  any 
way  legally  aftect  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  railroad  company,  and  if, 
so,  to  what  extent  ? 

' '  Fourth  —  Can  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  without  the  assent  of  the 
company,  divest  such  company  of,  or  impair,  the  franchises,  rights,  and 
privileges  conferred  upon  it  by  the  acts  referred  to,  or  which  it  has  acquired, 
by  virtue  of  the  proceedings  above  mentioned  ? 

"Very  Respectfully  Yours, 

"  Robert  W,  Lowber, 
"  Vice  President  M.  &  N.  W.  R.  B.  Co." 

The  several  answers  to  these  questions  were  in  substance,  as  follows: 

^^  First  —  Our  answer  to  the  first  question,  is  that  by  the  act  of  Congress 
referred  to,  the  Territory  of  Minnesota  became  and  was,  the  moment  such 
act  was  passed,  vested,  first,  with  a  franchise  which  empowered  the  territory 
to  build  its  railroad  upon  the  lands  of  the  United  States,  and  to  operate  the 
same;  neither  of  which  could  have  been  done  by  the  territory  without  the 
assent  of  the  general  government,  and  also  of  an  easement,  or  right  of  way, 
in  such  lands  for  the  purposes  of  a  railroad;  and  secondly,  an  interest  and 
property  in  the  sections  of  land  conditionlly  granted,  which  entitled  the 
territory,  upon  constructing  the  road,  or  causing  it  to  be  constructed  in 
sections,  as  contemplated  by  the  act,  to  the  fee  of  the  land,  without  any 
further  action  on  the  ])art  of  Congress. 

'^Second  —  The  rule  of  the  common  law  that  grants  of  property  of  which 
the  title  is  not  in  the  grantor  when  the  grant  is  made,  are  void,  is  not  appli- 
cable to  this  case;  for  here,  the  legislature  of  Minnesota,  the  supreme  law- 
making power  itself,  l)y  making  such  grant,  and  declaring  that  the  same 
shall  have  full   I'nn-c,  ho  as  to  vest  the  fee  simple,  absolutely,  in  the  com- 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  221 

pany,  without  any  further  act  or  deed,  abrogates  and  annuls  tliis  rule  of  the 
common  law,  by  the  paramount  power  and  authority  of  the  statute.  The 
government  of  the  territory  could  make  a  valid  contract  by  a  legislative  act 
to  give  land,  subsequently  to  be  acquired,  to  an  individual,  so  as  to  give 
him  a  vested  interest  therein  the  moment  the  territory  obtained  its  inter- 
est. 

"The  grant  from  the  territory,  therefore,  was  valid,  and  conveyed  to  the 
railroad  company  a  beneficial  interest  in  all  the  lands  subsequently  granted 
by  Congress  to  such  territory  for  the  purposes  of  the  road,  which  beneficial 
interest  became  vested  in  the  company  immediately  upon  the  passage  of  the 
act  of  Congress  and  the  organization  of  the  company,  without  the  necessity 
of  any  further  act  or  deed  (section  8),  although  the  company  may,  if  they 
shall  desire  to  do  so,  require  the  governor  to  execute  his  deed  by  way  of  fur- 
ther assurance. 

' '  Third  —  We  think  the  subsequent  repealing  act  passed  by  Congress 
does  not  affect  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  territory,  or  of  the  railroad  com- 
pany, which  had  become  vested  under  the  act  of  Congress  of  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  June,  1854. 

"  1.  It  is  a  principle  of  the  common  law  that  a  grant  of  land  or  of  a 
franchise,  or  other  property,  once  made  by  a  legislative  body  cannot  be 
repealed  by  the  granting  power.  The  law  upon  this  subject  is  thus  laid 
down  by  Justice  Story:  'Every  grant  of  a  franchise  is  necessarily  exclu- 
sive, so  far  as  the  grant  extends,  and  cannot  he  resumed  nor  interfered  with. 
The  legislature  cannot  recall  its  grant  nor  destroy  it.  In  this  respect^  the  grant 
of  a  franchise  does  not  differ  from  a  grant  of  lands.  In  each  case,  the  particular 
franchise  or  particular  land,  is  withdrawn  from  legislative  operation.  The  sub- 
ject matter  has  passed  from  the  hands  of  the  government. ' 

"2.  The  grant  made  by  Congress  to  the  Territory  of  Minnesota  was, 
first,  a  grant  of  the  right  to  construct  the  railroad  on  the  lands  of  the  United 
States,  being  a  grant  of  a  franchise  as  well  as  an  easement  in  the  lands  them- 
selves ;  and,  secondly,  a  grant  of  the  fee,  although  conditional  of  the  particu- 
lar sections  of  land  designated  in  the  act. 

'^Fourth — We  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  legislature  of  Minnesota  has 
no  power  to  divest  the  railroad  company  of  its  rights,  or  in  any  way  to  im- 
pair the  same. 

"1.  By  the  common  law,  as  we  have  endeavored  to  show,  the  govern- 
ment cannot,  of  itself,  resume  or  annul  its  grant,  in  whole  or  in  part. 

' '  2.  The  legislature  of  Minnesota  possesses  no  powers  except  those  which 
have  been  conferred  upon  it  by  the  act  creating  it.  Now,  clearly,  Congress 
could  not  confer  any  legislative  power  which  it  did  not  itself  possess  under 
the  Constitution.  Nor  has  it  attempted  to  do  so  in  this  case,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  sixth  section  of  the  act  organizing  the  territory,  declares  that 
'the  legislative  power  shall  extend  to  all  rightful  subjects  of  legislation, 
consistent  with  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  the  provisions  of  this 
act.'     (9  Stat,  at  Large,  405.) 

"Reuben  H.  Walworth, 
"  Wm.  Curtis  Noyes, 
"John  M.  Barbour." 

New  York,  September  1,  1854.] 


222  ANCESTEY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

however,  shows  that  the  comj)any  put  into  the  hands  of  these 
legal  gentlemen  the  altered  text  of  the  Minnesota  land  bill, 
not  stating  that  the  bill  passed  by  the  senate  was  not  the  bill 
passed  by  the  house,  and  that,  both  before  the  fraud  and  after 
it,  the  company  was  excluded,  by  the  proviso,  from  any  interest 
in  said  lands.  It  may  be  true  that  the  company  was  technically 
organized  after  the  bill  was  passed,  but  it  was  none  the  less 
true  that  it  was  essentially  constituted  before  that  passage. 
Able  lawyers  in  Congress  held  that,  to  argue,  in  this  case,  the 
distinction  between  the  terms  constituted  and  organized,  was 
an  empty  plea.  It  may  be  true  that  a  territorial  statute  can 
annul  the  rule  of  common  law,  and  a  grantor  convey,  or  give 
in  fee,  what  he  does  not  own.  All  this  was  irrelevant.  Mr. 
Sibley's  position,  viz.,  the  right  reserved  to  Congress  by  the 
organic  act,  March  3, 1849,  establishing  the  territory,  the  right 
to  disapprove  and  disaffirm  territorial  legislation,  was  impreg- 
nable and  unassailable,  so  long  as  that  organic  act  had  not 
been  decided  unconstitutional.  Nor  could  the  right  of  Con- 
gress to  protect  its  official  record  and  its  legislation  from  fraud 
be  denied.  It  remains  only  to  add  here,  that  February  19, 
1855,  the  same  two-thirds  of  the  legislature  of  Minnesota,  as 
before,  voted  down  a  resolution,  offered  in  the  house,  to  in- 
vestigate the  charge  "openly  made  in  the  streets,  and  almost 
universally  accredited  as  true,"  that  members  of  the  legisla- 
ture had  been  "bribed  and  corrupted." ^ 

Such  was  the  celebrated  legislature  of  1855,  and  such  were 
Mr.  Sibley's  relations  to  it.  Such,  also,  was  his  service  to  the 
people  of  the  territory.  Neither  the  cunning,  nor  art,  em- 
ployed in  Congress  or  in  the  legislature  availed  to  evade,  or 
destroy,  the  proviso  whose  insertion  in  the  Minnesota  laud 
bill  his  foresight  secured  before  it  was  passed. 

The  years  1857-1858  evoked  new  scenes  and  events  in 
which  Mr.  Sibley  again  appears  as  a  presiding  genius,  stand- 
ing firm  amid  storms,  as  before,  bringing  order  from  chaos 
and  light  out  of  darkness.  The  time  had  come  for  Minnesota 
to  seek  entrance  into  the  sisterhood  of  states.  The  popula- 
tion was  between  150,000  and  200,000.  Great  quantities  of 
land  had  been  settled  upon;  counties  had  multiplied;  villages, 
towns,  and  cities  had  sprung  up;  schools  had  been  planted, 
roads  completed,  business  established,  and  printing  presses 
iucrc.awed.     Immigration  i)ourc(l  in  like  a  spreading  stream; 

1  Houso  Journal,  Mondiiy,  February  19,1855. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  223 

rich  harvests,  though  limited,  rewarded  the  laborer's  toil; 
commerce  and  trade  advanced,  and  everything  seemed  to  swim 
in  a  sea  of  unwonted  and  uuinterrupted  prosperity.  It  was 
the  beginning  of  1857,  a  year  never  to  be  forgotten,  and  but 
three  years  before  the  breaking  out  of  our  Civil  War.  Feb- 
ruary 23,  1857,  Congress  passed  an  "Enabling  Act,"  author- 
izing the  people  of  the  territory  to  meet  in  convention,  at  St. 
Paul,  and  form  for  themselves  a  state  constitution.  March 
5th  it  enacted  another  magnificent  grant  of  land,  4,500,000 
acres,  to  aid  the  territory  in  railway  construction.  May  22d 
a  special  session  of  the  legislature  passed  over  to  the  hands  of 
four  chartered  but  impecunious  railroad  companies,  to-wit, 
(1)  the  Minnesota  &  Pacific,  (2)  the  Minneapolis  &  Cedar  Valley, 
(3)  the  Transit,  (4)  the  Southern  Minnesota,  all  the  lands  donated 
by  Congress,  and  ordered  an  election  to  be  held  June  8th  for 
the  choice  of  delegates  to  a  convention  to  form  a  state  consti- 
tution, July  13th,  at  the  capitol  of  the  state.  The  delegates 
met  in  St.  Paul,  and  the  feeling  ran  high.  The  Democratic 
party  had  existed  in  the  territory  since  1850,  the  Eepublican 
since  1854.  The  war-cloud  was  gathering,  Kansas  was  bleed- 
ing, churches  and  platforms  were  thundering.  On  the  great 
slavery  question  of  the  hour,  Choate  was  answering  Sumner, 
and  Ehett  was  replying  to  Douglas.  The  mightiest  men  of 
the  nation  were  in  action.  In  Minnesota  the  struggle  was  to 
see  now,  under  what  escort,  and  with  what  constitution, 
Minnesota  should  enter  the  Union.  Republican  speakers, 
imported  from  different  states,  stumped  the  territory  every- 
where. Each  party  suspected  the  other,  each  watched  the 
other,  each  accused  the  other,  and  each,  threatening  the  other, 
was  resolved  to  secure  for  itself  the  organization  of  the  consti- 
tutional convention.  The  "  Enabling  Act"  being  silent  as  to 
the  hour  the  convention  should  assemble,  the  Republican  dele- 
gates took  possession  of  the  hall  of  the  house  of  representatives 
at  12  midnight  of  Sunday,  ostensibly  to  "watch  and  pray  for 
our  Democratic  brethren,"  but,  really  and  truly,  to  "prevent 
the  Democrats"  from  performing  that  same  kind  office  for  their 
"Republican  brethren."  The  devotion  was  sleepless;  eyes 
were  sharp;  ears  were  acute.  Both  parties  were  in  caucus. 
An  agreement  was  reached  between  7  and  9  a.  m.,  Monday, 
that  the  convention  should  not  be  organized  till  12  noon  of 
that  day,  viz.,  July  13,  1857.  The  Republicans  still  holding 
the  hall,  and  the  Democrats  entering  in  a  body,  at  seventeen 


224  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

minutes  before  twelve  o'clock,  the  secretary  of  the  territory, 
and,  at  that  time,  acting  governor  of  the  territory,  and  a  dele- 
gate also  to  the  convention,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Chase,  the  officer 
to  whom  by  law  the  certificates  of  election  were  sent,  ascended 
the  speaker's  desk  and  called  the  convention  to  order.  A 
motion,  coming  from  some  one  of  the  delegates,  was  made  "  to 
adjourn  till  to-morrow  at  12  noon."  Immediately  Mr.  J.  W. 
North  took  the  platform  and  moved  to  organize  the  conven- 
tion. The  secretary  of  the  territory  put  the  motion  first 
made  to  the  convention,  and  declared  it  carried,  whereupon 
the  Democrats  retired  from  the  hall.  The  Republicans  re- 
maining in  the  hall,  proceeded  to  business  and  organized  for 
themselves,  electing  T.  J.  Galbraith,  Esq.,  as  chairman  pro 
tern.,  and  afterward,  Ste.  A.  D.  Balcomb  as  their  permanent 
president.  The  Democrats,  finding,  next  day,  their  Republi- 
can friends  organized  and  in  possession  of  the  hall,  at  12 
noon  adjourned  to  the  council  chamber  of  the  capitol,  electing, 
"by  acclamation,"  the  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley  as  their  temporary 
chairman,  and  afterward,  also,  as  the  president  of  their  perma- 
nent organization.  Each  branch  sat  separate  throughout  the 
whole  period  of  their  labors,  from  July  13  to  August  29,  1857. 
Each  formed  a  state  constitution.  Each  claimed  to  have  a 
majority  of  legally  elected  delegates.  Each  styled  itself  ^^  The 
Constitutional  Convention."  The  Republicans  affirmed  the 
right  of  anyone,  bearing  a  certificate  of  election  signed  by 
the  proi^er  officer,  to  call  the  convention  "to  order,"  and 
"  make  a  motion,"  apart  from  any  canvass  of  the  credentials 
themselves,  as  to  whether  they  were  spurious  or  genuine. 
The  Democrats  as  strongly  affirmed,  not  only  the  right,  but 
the  propriety,  of  the  secretary  of  the  territory,  acting  gov- 
ernor, and  certified  delegate  as  well,  to  do  the  same.  The  one, 
inconsistently  enough,  denied  the  territorial  secretary's  right 
to  put  a  motion  to  adjourn,  or  even  to  call  the  convention  to 
order.  It  was  argued  there  was  "no  convention  to  be  ad- 
journed," because  "no  organization."  Besides,  it  was  "fed- 
eral interference,"  which  must  be  "resisted."  The  other  de- 
nied the  right  of  a  delegate  to  "mount  the  rostrum,"  and, 
acting  the  double  role  of  speaker  in  the  chair,  and  member  on 
the  floor,  himself  inake  to  himself  amotion,  while  another  was 
pending,  then  i)ut  it  to  the  house,  as  if  coming  from  the  house. 
And  80  the  parties  stood,  poles  asunder. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  225 

It  would  seem,  plainly,  that  the  Eepublican  organization 
was  incompetent,  and  that  over  which  Mr.  Sibley  presided 
was  the  only  valid  one.  A  jmnctuvi  saliens  must  be  found 
somewhere.  A  majority  present,  some  one  must  rise  to  his 
feet.  Accepting  the  Republican  principle  that  the  mere  pos- 
session of  a  certificate,  apart  from  all  canvass  of  credentials, 
is  prima  facie  evidence  of  legal  election  and  title  to  a  seat  in 
convention,  it  is  clear  that  some  one  must  call  to  order,  and 
some  one  must  move  either  to  adjourn  till  others  arrive,  or  to 
elect  a  temporary  chairman.  That  all  motions  are  unparlia- 
mentary, unless  after  prior  organization,  is  a  self-evident 
absurdity,  making  organization  itself  impossible.  The  prima 
facie  right  to  call  to  order,  or  make  a  motion  of  any  kind,  is 
grounded  alone  in  the  possession  of  a  certificate  of  election, 
and  is  inherent  in  the  delegates  themselves.  It  is  antecedent 
to  all  constitutions  and  all  conventions.  The  right  to  move 
to  elect  a  chairman  involves  the  right  to  move  to  adjourn,  for 
a  motion  to  adjourn  takes  precedence  of  all  other  motions. 
Where  co-existing  motions  are  made,  the  one  made  first,  or 
the  one  made  farthest  from  the  chair,  is  entitled  to  prior  rec- 
ognition and  precedent  action.  N"or  will  a  motion  be  allowed 
to  be  entertained  during  the  pendency  of  another,  properly 
made,  and  in  possession  of  the  house.  Least  of  all  will  a 
speaker  or  chairman  be  allowed  to  make  his  own  motion  and 
then  put  it  to  the  house.  Such  action  is  indecorous,  out  of 
order,  revolutionary,  and  unparliamentary.  Parliamentary 
rules  are  a  system  of  logic,  implying  always  their  postulates 
and  necessary  presuppositions.  Party  spirit  may  blind  men's 
minds  to  their  true  understanding,  and  preconcert  and  pro- 
gram falsely  construe  them,  but  there  is  a  ''boomerang  ethics" 
in  their  breast  that  reacts  and  avenges  their  outrage,  and 
makes /eZo  de  se  of  every  attempt  to  insult  them  or  set  them 
aside.  The  sequel  shows  this.  Nor  could  the  Republicans  fail 
to  have  known  what  was  legal  in  the  case.  The  scenes  at  the 
national  capitol,  where  members  elect  had  met,  adjourned, 
re-met,  and  adjourned  again,  and  failed,  for  ten,  thirty,  and 
forty  days,  to  choose  a  Republican  speaker  of  the  house,  till 
the  senate  grew  weary,  and  went  on  to  business  alone,  were 
too  familiar  to  allow,  for  one  moment,  the  position  of  the 
Democrats  to  be  seriously  questioned.  To  the  Democrats  be- 
longed the  constitutional  organization,  and  over  this  assembly 
Mr.  Sibley  presided.     Had  even  two-thirds  of  the  delegates 


226  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

remained  after  the  adjournment  to  12  noon  next  day  was  car- 
ried,—  no  one  calling  "Division"  and  no  one  demanding  a 
"count,'' — their  organization  had  nevertheless  been  null  and 
void. 

A  full  and  interesting  account  of  the  proceedings  of  each 
convention  is  published  in  two  separate  volumes,  one  for  the 
Democrats,  ^  one  for  the  Republicans.  ^  From  both  it  apj)ears 
that,  weeks  elapsing,  and  better  counsels  prevailing,  a  "Com- 
mittee of  Conference  and  Compromise"  was  appointed  from 
both  to  meet  and  devise  some  method  whereby,  instead  of  two 
separate  constitutions,  one  constitution  might  be  agreed  upon 
and  submitted  to  the  people,  in  the  hope  of  securing  its  ratifi- 
cation, its  approval  by  Congress,  and  the  speedy  admission  of 
Minnesota  as  a  state  into  the  Federal  Union,  The  proposal  for 
a  conference  came  from  the  Republican  side,  and  was  met  from 
the  Democratic  side  in  a  conciliatory  spirit.  The  Committee 
of  Conference  successfully  completed  their  labors,  and  the 
same  constitution  adopted  in  duplicate,  and  signed  and  attest- 
ed separately,  by  the  president  and  secretary  of  each  conven- 
tion, and  subscribed  by  the  delegates  of  each,  as  ^^  Done  in 
convention,  this  twenty-ninth  day  of  August,  1857,  and  of  the  Inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States  the  eighty  second  year;  In  witness 
whereof,  etc.,  etc.,^^  was  submitted  to  the  people  of  the  terri- 
tory, and  by  the  same  unanimously  ratified,  October  13,  1857. 

A  careful  comparison  of  the  two  constitutions,  framed  by 
the  separate  branches  of  the  convention,  establishes  the  fact 
that  the  one  constitution  of  the  State  of  Minnesota,  which  is 
the  adopted  report  of  the  Committee  of  Conference,  ratified  by 
the  people,  and  sanctioned  by  Congress,  is,  with  a  few  excep- 
tions, the  substantial  instrument  formulated  by  the  Democratic 
V)ranch  of  the  delegates  to  the  convention.  This  organic  foun- 
dation was  boi-ne,  in  due  time,  by  the  senators  elect,  to  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States.  January  29,  1858,  Mr.  Doug- 
las introduced  a  bill  into  the  senate  for  the  admission  of  Min- 
nesota as  a  state  upon  the  ])asis  of  this  adopted  and  rati- 
fied document.  After  much  debate  and  unjustifiable  delay,  it 
passed  the  senate  April  7,  1858,  three  votes  dissenting,  and 
shortly  after,  by  a  vote  of  158  to  38,  the  house  concurred  with 
the  senate.     Tlie  president,  May  11,  1858,  approved  the  act, 

1  The  Debates  and  rrocL'cdiiitiS  of  tlie  Minnesota  fonslitiitional  Convciilion,  lH57,i>.  G85. 

2  Debates  and  Proceedings  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  for  the  Territory  of  Minne- 
sota, 1808,  p.  619. 


HON.   HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,   LL.D.  227 

and  thus,  nine  years  after  her  organization  as  a  territory, 
Minnesota  stood  on  her  feet  as  one  of  the  equal  sisters  of  the 
thirty-one  independent  states  of  the  great  American  Union. 
Her  escort  into  the  Union  was  l)oth  political  parties,  her  ban- 
ner the  formal  production  of  both,  but  the  essential  produc- 
tion of  one.  Another  star  shone  refulgent  in  the  deep  blue  of 
the  national  flag.  It  is  one  of  the  j)leasing  and  undesigned 
coincidences,  worth  notice  in  history,  that  the  day  when  the 
Eepublicans  proposed  the  Committee  of  Conference  to  "  unite 
on  a  single  constitution"  was  the  day,  August  8,  1857,  when 
they  adopted,  as  a  motto  for  the  seal  of  the  state,  the  words 
'■^  Liberty  and  Union! '^  and  the  hour,  12  noon  of  day,  and  not 
12  noon  of  night,  when  they  captured  the  hall  ' '  to  watch  and 
pray  for  our  Democratic  brethren ! ' ' 

While  the  admission  of  Minnesota  into  the  Union  was  an 
occasion  of  great  joy  and  congratulation,  the  delay  attending 
the  same  was  a  just  ground  of  complaint.  The  enabling  act 
pledged  to  the  territory  a  speedy  admission  upon  compliance 
with  the  conditions  specified,  all  of  which  the  territory  had 
promptly  fulfilled.  Notwithstanding  this,  Minnesota  was  kept 
waiting  for  months  at  the  door  of  Congress,  without  one  valid 
reason  to  support  the  delay,  the  foot-ball  of  partisans  and 
demagogues  of  the  time.  Her  state  officers  had  all  been  elected, 
her  state  legislature  convened,  and  yet,  through  default  of 
Congress,  her  public  and  private  credit  was  injuriously  affect- 
ed, immigration  checked,  and  her  whole  government  para- 
lyzed. The  executive  officers  could  not  qualify,  the  govern- 
ment elect  could  not  act,  the  legislature  could  make  no  laws. 
Nothing  could  be  done  until  after  her  admission  into  the 
Union,  Such  unmerited  repulsion  aroused  the  ire  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  the  legislature,  May  1,  1858,  amended  the  constitution, 
empowering  the  officers  to  qualify  at  once,  without  further 
obeisance  to  Congress.  It  raised  serious  questions.  How  long 
may  Congress  allow  politicians  to  tamper  with  the  just  claims 
of  territories  and  trifle  with  the  pledges  of  the  national  gov- 
ernment"? By  what  right  may  Congress  exercise  government, 
one  hour,  in  a  territory  which,  having  promptly  complied 
with  every  requirement  imposed  by  Congress,  and  asked  for 
admission,  is  yet  kept,  to  her  injury,  in  the  attitude  of  a  men- 
dicant, for  months  at  the  door  of  the  capitol,  without  shadow 
of  justification  for  such  treatment?  It  was  but  natural  and 
necessary  that  the  governor  elect,  in  his  first  annual  message, 


228  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,    AND   TIMES   OP 

should  advert  to  an  injustice  so  great,  and  mete  out  to  its  per- 
petrators a  deserved  rebuke.  ''For  the  first  time,"  said  Gov- 
ernor Sibley,  "in  our  political  history,  a  state,  against  whose 
admission  not  a  single  valid  objection  could  be  urged,  has  been 
kept  out  of  the  Union  for  many  months;  not  because  of  any 
fault  of  her  own,  but  simply  because  it  subserved  the  purposes 
of  congressional  politicians  to  allow  her  to  remain  suspended, 
for  an  indefinite  period,  like  the  fabled  coffin  of  the  False 
Prophet,  between  the  heaven  and  the  earth."  ^  In  fitting 
terms,  the  rod  of  rebuke  is  applied,  not  only  to  such  men  as, 
for  party  reasons,  would  exclude  Minnesota  "till  the  Kansas 
question  is  settled,"  but  who,  like  John  Sherman  of  Ohio, 
falsely  accused  the  governor  elect,  by  name,  with  a  share  in 
election  frauds,  the  ground  of  the  slander  being  no  other  than 
the  unscrupulous  lies  of  partisan  prints.  "I  owe  it,"  said  the 
governor,  "no  less  to  the  character  of  the  state  than  to  my 
own  personal  honor,  to  denounce  it  as  basely  calumnious  and 
without  shadow  of  foundation.  I  invite  the  strictest  judicial 
investigation,  for,  if  not  legally  elected  governor,  I  would  scorn 
to  fill  that  station  for  a  single  hour."  2  The  investigation  was 
wholly  unnecessary.  The  baseness  of  Sherman's  libel  upon 
Mr.  Sibley  and  the  senators  elect  from  Minnesota,  "o'erleaped 
itsel'  and  fell  on  t'other  side."  The  senators  were  allowed 
to  take  their  seats,  notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  some 
extreme  Southern  men,  and  ten  days  after  the  legislature 
resolved  to  qualify  the  executive  officers,  Congress  or  no  Con- 
gress, Minnesota  was  admitted  to  the  Union. 

None  familiar  with  the  history  of  the  territory  could  have 
doubted  for  a  moment,  upon  whom,  first  of  all,  the  title  "His 
Excellency,  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  Minnesota"  would 
fall.  The  election  for  state  officers,  held  October  13,  1857, 
when  the  constitution  was  ratified,  revealed  the  fact  that  the 
Hon.  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  was  the  popular  choice.  The 
contest  between  himself  and  the  Hon.  Alexander  Ramsey,  ex- 
governor  of  the  territory,  a  gentleman  of  high  standing  and 
influence,  was  close  and  sharp,  but  the  victory  clear  and 
conclusive.  The  ballot  had  lifted  Mr.  Sibley  to  the  eminent 
])OHitioii  of  the  first  chief  executive  officer  of  the  new-born 
State  of  Minnesota,  t\\ei  first  Democratic  governor,  and  the  only 
Democratic  governor  the  state  has  ever  possessed. 


1  Senate  Journal,  \KA,  \t.  373. 

2  Ibid,,  p.  374. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  229 

The  epoch  when  Mr.  Sibley  came  into  power  as  the  gov- 
ernor of  Minnesota,  the  year  1857,  was  a  memorable  one,  and 
is  chronicled  as  a  year  of  the  greatest  financial  disaster  ever 
known  to  the  nation.  The  penalty  for  reckless  extravagance 
and  daring  adventure  was  now  to  be  paid.  The  rapid  devel- 
opment of  the  country,  the  promise  of  boundless  expansion 
and  wealth,  the  influx  of  foreign  immigration,  the  unbridled 
career  of  speculation,  the  illegitimate  extension  of  business, 
the  enormous  inflation  of  the  banking  system  by  paper  money, 
and  vast  railroad  enterprises,  produced  a  crisis  of  unprecedent- 
ed pressure,  a  foretaste  of  that  "  shaking  of  heaven,  earth,  sea, 
dry  laud, " and  "  the  nations, ' '  jjortending  universal  dissolution. 
It  was  a  righteous  Nemesis.  The  entire  fabric  of  commerce 
and  trade  was  shattered  to  its  foandation.  Public  credit  was 
wrecked.  The  grandest  fortunes  perished  in  a  moment.  Men 
living  in  luxury  were  impoverished  for  life,  and  the  sale  of  pala- 
tial homes  atoned  for  their  folly.  A  sense  of  insecurity  sat 
brooding  everywhere.  The  bourses  of  Europe  and  exchanges 
of  America  alike  felt  the  shock.  The  fall  was  perpendicular 
and  the  crash  was  complete.  Grand  enterprises  ambitiously 
begun  were  suddenly  arrested  and  ignominiously  abandoned. 
Men  "began  to  build,  but  were  not  able  to  finish."  The  great 
commercial  cities  of  the  world  suffered  the  extremest  distress, 
and  civil  revolutions  only  added  to  the  general  horror, — a 
presage  of  our  own  Civil  War  in  1861.  Minnesota  formed  no 
exception  to  the  general  distress.  She  had  "sprung  almost 
as  suddenly  as  the  armed  Minerva  from  the  brain  of  Jove.'' 
From  a  population  of  5,000  in  1848  she  had  leaped  to  one  of 
over  150,000  in  1857,  destined  to  reach  nearly  600,000  at  the 
close  of  the  decade  next  following.  The  rage  for  wealth  was 
an  unrestrainable  madness,  a  competition  of  whirling  insanity 
which,  like  a  cyclone,  bore  away  all  on  its  breast,  to  scatter 
them  everywhere  to  the  winds.  Utopias  dazzled  in  the  sky, 
and  El  Dorados  floated  before  every  imagination.  The  story 
of  the  birth  of  towns  outstripped  the  wonders  of  the  Arabian 
Nights'  entertainments.  In  the  graphic  words  of  Judge  Flan- 
drau,  "  Towns  on  paper  were  thicker  than  locusts  in  Egypt. 
There  was  little  else  than  towns.  Agriculture  was  hardly 
known.  Even  hay  was  imported  while  millions  of  tons  lay 
uncut  in  the  Minnesota  bottoms.  The  current  rate  of  inter- 
est was  three  and  Jive  per  cent  per  month.  Everybody  borrowed 
all  he  could  to  operate  with  in  town  lots.     Projjerty  reached 


230  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

higher  prices  in  1856  than  it  has  reached  at  any  time  since. 
Everyone  felt  rich.  Xone  thought  of  the  fact  that  we  had  not 
a  single  thing  to  sell,  but  all  to  buy.  Then  came  a  succession 
of  failures  all  over  the  country.  Foreclosures  followed  as  fast 
as  demands  fell  due.  I^ever  was  smash  more  complete.  There 
was  not  money  enough  in  the  country  to  do  the  ordinary 
commerce  of  life."  ^ 

The  lesson,  however,  was  salutary.  It  instructed  men  that 
all  wealth  comes  back  to  the  soil,  that  honest  labor  is  the  only 
substantial  foundation  of  all  prosperity,  and  honest  gains  the 
only  possessions  that  abide.  It  taught  them  that  even  gov- 
ernments and  banks,  insurance  and  railroad  companies,  cor- 
porations, syndicates,  bourses,  and  business  firms,  of  whatever 
description,  are  powerless  to  successfully  confront  that  moral 
order  of  the  universe,  or  law  of  righteousness,  to  which 
finance  itself  must  be  subject.  It  whispered  to  many  a  con- 
science, stained  by  the  "awH  sacra /ames,"  and  stung  by  a 
sense  of  self-degradation,  that  "he  that  maketh  haste  to  be 
rich  shall  not  be  innocent,"  and  that  "as  a  partridge  sitteth 
on  eggs  not  her  own,  and  hatcheth  them  not,  so  is  he  that  get- 
teth  riches,  yet  not  by  right.  In  the  midst  of  his  days  they 
shall  leave  him,  and  in  the  end  of  his  days  he  shall  be  a  fool." 
"Thou  fool!  this  night  thy  soul!"  rang  in  the  chambers  of 
many  an  awakened  heart,  and  deep  sank  the  conviction,  that 
Agur's  prayer,  ^^  Give  me  neither  poverty  nor  riches,^^  was  a 
better  investment  than  lago's  advice,  "  Go  to,  put  money  in  thy 
purse ^  Go  to!'- 

To  borrow  capital  at  such  a  time,  for  lailroad  purposes,  and 
pledge  the  credit  of  the  inlant  State  of  Minnesota  for  the  pay- 
ment of  the  j)rincipal  and  interest  of  the  bonds  executed  in 
her  name,  was  the  gigantic  blunder  of  the  hour.  Much  as 
may  b<'  said  to  i)alliate  the  impetuous  and  adventurous  order 
of  a  x>t!Ople  to  whom  the  stage  coach,  the  ox  cart,  and  the 
Conestoga  wagon,  were  the  only  means  of  public  transporta- 
tion, in  a  territory  so  vast,  and  so  rapidly  filling,  yet  the 
finan(;ial  crisis  being  such  as  it  was,  the  enterprise  could  only 
merit  the  name  of  "  Minnesota's  Folly."  A  tyro  in  political 
economy  might  have  seen  it,  and  Governor  Sibley  opposed  it. 
TIm;  celebrated  "/'iyc  Million  Loan''  will  ever  stand  in  the 
annals  of  the  state  ;is  the  loftiest  monument  of  the  unreason 
of  the  people.     It  will  be  remembered  that  Congress,  March 

1  Addrew)  to  the  Pioneer  Association  l)y  lion.  C.  E.  Flandrau,  May  11, 1886,  pp.  16, 17. 


HON.  HENRY    HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  231 

5,  1857,  had  grauted  4,500, 00()  acres  of  land  to  the  Territory 
of  Minnesota,  to  aid  in  railway  construction,  which  the  legis- 
lature at  its  special  session  that  year.  May  22,  1857,  passed 
over  into  the  hands  of  four  chartered  railroad  companies 
who  had  neither  the  money  nor  credit  to  carry  on  the  pro- 
jected improvements.  This  was  the  first  step  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  great  trust  for  the  benefit  of  the  state. 
And  the  second  step  was  of  equal  folly.  Article  9,  section 
10,  of  the  State  Constitution,  which  40,000  votes  had  rati- 
fied, provided  that  "  The  credit  of  the  state  shall  never  he 
given,  or  loaned,  in  aid  of  any  individual,  association,  or  corpora- 
tion.^^ The  legislature,  however,  impelled  by  supposed  ne- 
cessity, under  the  stringency  of  the  times,  and  a  desire  for 
development  of  the  resources  of  the  state,  drank  of  the  Cir- 
cean  cup,  and,  listening  to  the  song  of  the  railroad  sirens, 
passed  another  act,  April  15,  1858,  submitting  to  the  people  an 
amendment  to  the  constitution  (article  9,  section  10),  provid- 
ing for  the  loan  of  the  credit  of  the  state  to  the  four  railroad 
companies,  to  the  amount  of  no  less  than  $5,000,000,  the  con- 
dition being  a  certain  amount  of  work  done  on  the  projected 
roads.  The  plan  was  to  issue  state  bonds  to  the  companies, 
bearing  the  official  signature  of  Governor  Sibley,  and  the 
broad  seal  of  the  state,  bonds  of  $100,000,  at  the  rate  of  $10,- 
000  per  mile  for  grading,  said  bonds  to  be  delivered  upon 
proof  satisfactory  to  the  governor  that  ten  miles  of  road  had 
been  thoroughly  completed  and  was  ready  for  its  superstruc- 
ture, the  principal  and  interest  on  these  bonds  to  be  secured 
by  first  mortgages  of  the  companies  to  the  state.  Such  the 
amendment.  It  passed  the  senate  by  a  vote  of  yeas  27,  nays 
7,  and  the  house  by  a  vote  of  yeas  47,  nays  24,  not  a  few  Demo- 
cratic members  being  opposed  to  the  measure.  The  people, 
however,  ratified  it,  overwhelmingly,  April  15,  1858,  by  a 
vote  of  25,023  in  favor,  to  6,733  against,  the  vote  of  St.  Paul 
being  4,051  for,  to  183  against,  the  amendment.  It  was  no 
party  measure,  in  any  sense  whatever,  but  wholly  free  from 
politics.  Republicans  not  less  than  Democrats  sharing  the 
responsibility.  It  was  no  administration  scheme.  In  the 
words  of  Judge  Flandrau,  "  Ji5  went  like  a  tohirlwind,^^  Mr.  Sib- 
ley voting  with  the  minority.  The  amendment  thus  passed 
became  the  organic  law  of  the  state,  the  credit  of  the  state 
was  loaned,  and  the  public  faith  and  honor  of  the  state  hereby 
became  pledged  for  the  payment  of  the  principal  and  inter- 


232  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

est.  The  companies  accepted  the  offer,  and,  commencing 
their  work,  the  several  lines  of  the  projected  roads  '* re- 
sounded with  the  blows  of  the  pick  and  the  shovel,  in  active 
and  laborious  hands." 

In  ancient  times  there  were  certain  high  officials,  called 
augurs,  whose  business  it  was  to  bore  into  things,  inspect 
entrails,  and,  observing  the  sky,  when  danger  was  near  and  the 
cloud  impending,  watch  just  where  the  thunder  would  burst 
and  the  lightning  would  strike.  Qualified,  eminently,  for  a 
service  so  important,  were  Governor  Sibley,  Hon.  R.  W.  Mar- 
shall, D.  A.  Robertson,  C.  H.  Berry,  C.  E.  Flandrau,  and  oth- 
ers, who,  examining  critically  the  true  inwardness  and  ambi- 
guity of  the  loan  amendment,  foreboded  evil  to  the  state,  and 
counseled  the  utmost  caution  in  the  interpretation  of  the  act, 
and  the  utmost  care  in  the  protection  of  the  credit  of  the 
state. 

June  3,  1858,  was  a  dies  notabilis  in  the  history  of  Minne- 
sota, the  day  of  the  first  message  of  the  governor  of  the  state 
to  the  First  State  Legislature,  convened  December  2,  1857. 
Informed  by  special  committee  that  both  houses  were  assem- 
bled in  joint  convention,  waiting  his  Excellency's  presence, 
or  any  communication  from  his  hand,  Governor  Sibley  ap- 
peared in  person  and  —  introduced  to  the  assembly — pro- 
ceeded to  deliver  his  inaugural.  His  first  utterance  was  "  Our 
expression  of  gratitude  to  Almighty  God  that  we  have  been  pre- 
served, in  our  transition  state  from  a  territorial  to  a  state  govern- 
ment, from  the  anarchy  which  has  afflicted  the  people  of  a  sister 
territory,  under  like  circumstances.^^ '^  After  referring  to  the 
delay  of  Minnesota's  admission,  the  wisdom  of  economy  in 
government,  the  severity  of  the  financial  crisis,  the  impor- 
tance of  adequate  banking  laws,  the  condition  of  the  railroads, 
the  claims  of  the  common  schools,  the  need  of  organizing  the 
militia  force  of  the  state,  and  the  magnificent  future  for  Min- 
nesota guided  by  a  virtuous,  intelligent,  educated,  and  religious 
people,  he  took  uj)  the  question  of  the  state  bonds.  Remind- 
ing the  legislature  that  the  public  faith  of  the  state  was  pos- 
sibly endangered,  and  her  credit  loaned  out  to  various  char- 
ter(;d  companies,  he  gave  no  uncertain  sound  as  to  what  was 
his  purpose  in  the  case.  "As  guardian  of  the  interests  of  the 
state,"  said  he,   ''J  shall,  during  my  official  term,   without 

1  Senate  Journal,  IHSH,  p.  ;i72.  The  allu.sioii  was  lo  the  sanguinary  scenes  enacted  in 
Kansofi. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  233 

being  unreasonably  strict  with  these  railroad  associations, 
require  to  be  satisfied,  by  unquestionable  evidence,  that  they 
have  GompUed,  as  well  tvith  the  spirit  (is  with  the  letter  of  the  amend- 
ment authorizing  the  loan,  and  that  they  are  conducting  their 
operations,  as  parties  to  the  contract  with  the  people  of  the 
state,  in  good  faith,  before  I  will  consent  to  deliver  over  to  them 
any  portion  of  her  bonds ^  ^ 

August  21,  1858,  before  the  issuance  of  any  of  the  bonds, 
the  governor  also  caused  to  be  entered  on  the  executive  jour- 
nal, and  to  be  served  upon  each  of  the  four  railroad  com- 
panies, notice  that  no  bonds  would  be  delivered  unless  upon 
previous  condition  that  the  companies  each  make,  first  of  all 
to  the  state,  "a  deposit  of  first  mortgage  bonds,  based  on  a  deed 
of  trust  to  the  state,  equal  in  amount  to  the  state  bonds  issued 
to  such  company,  which  shall  specify  a  priority  of  lien  to  such 
bonds  as  the  company  may  deliver  to  the  state  in  exchange 
for  her  own  bonds."  The  effect  of  this  was  clearly  to  secure  the 
state  by  exclusive  prior  lien  on  the  property  of  the  companies, 
preventing  the  issuance  of  other  like  bonds  to  other  parties. 
Solicited  by  agents  of  the  companies  to  change  his  construc- 
tion of  the  amendment,  on  the  ground  that  his  ruling  embar- 
rassed the  companies,  by  limiting  their  "first  mortgage  bonds" 
to  the  state  alone,  he  still  declined  and  refused  to  deliver  the 
bonds.  November  5,  1858,  he  alleged,  in  response  to  the  re- 
quest of  the  companies,  (1)  "that  the  security  of  the  state 
against  a  contingent  neglect  or  inability  of  the  companies  to 
meet  their  obligations  demanded  such  a  construction,"  (2) 
' '  that  the  public  faith  and  honor  of  the  state  were  pledged 
for  the  payment  of  the  bonds,"  (3)  "that,  otherwise,  it  would 
be  in  the  power  of  the  companies  to  issue  an  unlimited  amount 
of  first  mortgage  bonds  which  would,  equally  with  those  made 
to  the  state,  be  a  lien  on  the  property  and  franchises  of  the 
companies,  and  detract  greatly  from  the  value  of  the  securities 
held  by  the  state,"  and  (4)  "that  the  legislature  that  passed, 
and  the  people  who  ratified,  the  loan  amendment,  intended 
that  the  credit  of  the  state  should  not  suffer  in  consequence 
thereof."  2 

Three  of  the  companies,  disposed  to  yield  to  the  strong 
arguments  of  the  governor,  were  prevented  by  the  action  of 


1  Senate  Journal,  Message,  1858,  p.  376. 

2  Speech  of  ex-Governor  Sibley  in  the  Legislature,  February  8,  1871. 


234  ANCESTRY,   LIFE,   AND   TIMES   OF 

the  Minnesota  &  Pacific,  which,  having  tendered  to  the  gov- 
ernor, as  a  test,  a  trust  deed  not  in  conformity  with  his  require- 
ments, demanded  the  issuance  of  the  bonds.  Upon  the  gov- 
ernor's refusal  to  deliver  the  bonds,  the  company  appealed  to 
the  supreme  court  for  a  peremptory  writ  to  compel  their  issu- 
ance on  the  basis  of  the  trust  deed  the  governor  had  refused 
to  accept.  Two  of  the  court  granted  the  mandamus,  Judge 
Flandrau  dissenting.  The  governor,  disposed  at  first  to  regard 
the  decision  as  an  encroachment  of  the  judicial  upon  the 
executive  prerogative,  yielded,  however,  to  the  advice  of  the 
attorney  general,  who  urged  that,  even  should  the  order  be 
disregarded  by  the  governor,  the  comjDanies  might  submit  to 
his  ruling  and  obtain  the  bonds,  then  appeal  to  the  court  to 
be  released  from  his  construction.  Moreover,  the  ai)pearance 
of  the  state  in  court  by  the  presence  of  the  attorney  general, 
was  a  voluntary  waiver,  and  would  estop  the  governor's  objec- 
tion. To  this  the  governor  assented,  adding  that  the  supreme 
court  was  the  highest  judicial  tribunal  of  the  state,  and  enti- 
tled to  decide  the  meaning  of  a  legislative  act.  "I  yielded," 
said  he,  "to  the  force  of  the  attorney  general's  reasoning, 
because  I  was  especially  anxious  to  avoid  the  scandal  of  a 
conflict  between  the  executive  and  judicial  departments  of  the 
government  in  our  infant  state,  and  the  bonds  were  accordingly 
issued  as  prescribed  by  the  mandate  of  the  courtJ^^  This  was 
November  12,  1858.  The  bonds  were  not  issued,  however, 
until  the  governor  had  satisfied  himself,  upon  the  certificate 
and  oath  of  the  state  engineers,  acting  under  his  special  in- 
stiuctions,  that  the  gradiug  of  the  roads  was  durable,  the  work 
done  satisfactorily  to  the  most  critical  test,  and  all  the  condi- 
tions imposed  most  faithfully  met.  "Not  a  bond  was  issued,'' 
said  the  public  press,  "except  upon  compliance  with  every 
condition,  and  the  strictest  interpretation  of  every  condition, 
required  by  law.  And  in  this  Governor  Sibley  has  shown 
that,  in  his  capacity  as  chief  executive,  ho  has  guarded  the 
interests  of  the  state  by  exacting  a  rigorous  conformity  with 
the  provisions  of  the  law,  in  favor  of  the  state."  ^ 

The  dissenting  o])inion  of  Judge  Flandrau,  given  thirty 
years  ago,  and  supporting  the  construction  of  the  law  by 
Governor  Sibley,  is  an  opinion  of  remarkable  clearness,  pre- 


1  Sjieecli  of  cx-GovcTiior  Sibley  in  Uic  Lcginlutiiro. —  St.  Paul   Daily  News,  February  8, 
1871. 

2  St.  Paul  Daily  NeWH,  I'uliriuuy  1),  1H7I. 


HON,  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  235 

cision,  and  soundness,  and  betrays  a  capacity  of  legal  percep- 
tion and  judgment  rare,  indeed,  at  so  early  a  stage  of  legal 
career.  As  the  minority  of  the  bench,  he  held  that  the  words 
^^ first  mortgage  bonds ^'  were  ambiguous  in  the  clause  wherein 
they  occurred;  that  the  grant  being  a  public  one  and  the  state 
a  trustee  for  the  people,  no  alienation  should  be  presumed 
beyond  what  was  expressed;  that  the  value  of  the  securities  the 
state  was  to  receive  could  not  be  depreciated  even  by  impli- 
cation, and  that  the  ambiguous  terms  must  be  construed  most 
favorably  to  the  state,  and  consequently  the  trust  deeds  should 
^^ specify  apriority  of  lien  in  favor  of  the  state.''  This  would 
seem  to  be  invincible.  He  supported  this  view  by  the  fact  that 
the  loan  of  the  state  credit  was  to  receive  "as  securities''  for 
the  same,  first  of  all,  two  separate  instruments,  one  pledging 
the  net  profits  of  the  roads  for  the  payment  of  interest  on  the 
bonds,  the  other  conveying  to  the  state  the  first  two  hundred 
and  forty  sections  of  unincumbered  land.  And  now,  and  further- 
more, "as  further  security,"  in  case  of  default,  an  amount  of 
^^ first  mortgage  bonds"  on  the  property  and  franchises  of  the 
companies  equal  to  the  amount  issued  by  the  state.  It  was  a 
contract  for  the  sole  purpose  of  protecting  the  credit,  good 
name,  and  honor  of  the  state.  In  such  connection  and  under 
such  circumstances,  the  words  "first  mortgage  bonds"  could 
only  mean  an  "exclusive  lien"  to  the  extent  of  the  value 
named,  "  not  merely  a  lien  to  be  shared  equally  by  holders  of 
similar  bonds  to  the  amount  of  -$23,000,000,  which  the  Minne- 
sota &  Pacific  Eailroad  Company  alone  jjroposed  to  issue." 
Otherwise  the  security  was  no  security.  The  design  of  exact- 
ing the  "first  mortgage  bonds"  was  clear.  In  the  words, 
again,  of  Judge  Flandrau,  it  was  "that,  in  case  the  companies 
defaulted,  either  as  to  principal  or  interest  whose  security 
was  pledged  by  the  two  instruments  named,  no  further  bonds 
should  be  issued,  but  that  the  governor  should  proceed  to  sell 
the  bonds  of  the  defaulting  companies,  the  bonds  held  in  trust, 
or  require  a  foreclosure  of  the  mortgage  executed  to  secure 
the  same."  Governor  Sibley's  construction,  therefore,  was 
correct,  and  was  no  other  than  that  of  the  people  of  Minne- 
sota, who  adopted  the  amendment,  April  15,  1858,  viz.,  that 
the  credit  of  the  state  should  only  be  loaned  to  the  railroad 
companies  upon  the  condition  of  an  absolutely  valid  security 
which  could  be  no  less  than  an  "exclusive  first  lieu,"  as  an 
ample  jDrotection  against  default.     Had  the  minority  of  the 


236  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

supreme  court  been  its  majority,  the  history  of  the  State  of 
Minuesota  had  been  different,  in  some  respects,  from  what 
its  chronicle  shows.  ^ 

The  whole  railroad  enterprise  and  state  bond  arrangement 
was  a  disastrous  failure.  The  companies  defaulted.  The 
credit  of  the  state  collapsed.  The  good  faith  of  the  state 
was  comj)romised.  The  honor  of  the  state  was  tarnished. 
The  people  of  the  state  were  disgraced.  Facts  vindicated, 
triumphantly,  the  wisdom  of  the  governor's  judgment  in 
opposing  the  loan  amendment,  the  supreme  court's  error  in 
its  writ  of  mandamus  ordering  the  issue  of  the  bonds  without 
requiring  priority  of  lien,  and  the  soundness  of  Judge  Flan- 
drau's  opinion.  Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  that  even 
after  the  issue  of  $2,000,000  of  bonds,  not  one  iron  rail  had 
been  laid,  and  after  the  issue  of  $2,275,000  of  bonds  only  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  grading  had  been  done  on  all  the 
roads.  Even  after  the  amendment  had  so  overwhelmingly 
passed,  the  mandamus  been  granted,  and  the  bonds  issued, 
the  Eepublican  press  exerted  itself  to  baffle  the  whole  enter- 
prise, exciting  suspicion  everywhere  against  the  bonds  and 
defeating  every  effort  made  by  Governor  Sibley  and  others  to 
negotiate  the  same  in  the  city  of  New  York,  or  place  them 
elsewhere,  until  the  credit  of  the  state  was  wrecked,  and  the 
bonds  made  worthless  for  the  purpose  for  which  they  were 
issued.  2  The  companies  ceased  operations.  December  1, 1859, 
Governor  Sibley  resolved  to  issue  no  more  bonds,  but  required 
the  trustees  of  the  defaulting  companies  to  foreclose  and  de- 
liver their  property  and  franchises  to  the  state. 

December  8,  1859,  the  governor  delivered  his  last  annual 
message,  in  person  again,  to  the  state  legislature.  In  the 
course  of  his  remarks,  he  adverted  to  the  condition  of  the 
railway  companies,  the  number  of  bonds  issued,  and  the  work 
done.  He  then  dwelt,  in  eloquent  manner,  upon  the  solemn 
obligation  of  the  state,  notwithstanding  her  folly,  to  redeem 
the  bonds  of  the  state,  issued,  as  they  had  been,  by  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  Constitution,  the  will  of  the  people,  and  the  per- 
emptory order  of  the  highest  tribunal  of  the  state.  If  it  is 
iH'cessary  to  part  with  a  portion  of  the  state  domain,  to  keep 
the  honor  of  the  state,  part  with  it.  If  necessary  to  convert 
the  bonds,  convert  them.     His  words  are  the  words  of  an  in- 


1  VoT  .hidge  Klautlruu'B  Opinion, See  Minnesota  St.  Hop.,  GillilliU),  Vol.  IV,  \t.  228. 

2  See  ex-Qovcrnor  Sibley's  Speech,  St.  Paul  Daily  News,  February  9,  1871. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  237 

corruptible  statesman  alive  to  a  sense  of  unblemished  integ- 
rity, and  ready  for  any  sacrifice,  rather  than  face  the  shame  of 
threatened  repudiation.  "I  trust,"  said  he,  "that  you  will 
decide  this  grave  and  important  question  in  such  manner  as 
to  demonstrate  abroad  that  the  representatives  of  the  people 
of  Minnesota  will  not  tolerate  repudiation.  Better  far,  ice  were 
visited  hy  pestilence  or  famine,  for  these  are  hut  instruments  of  God 
for  ivhich  ive  were  not  responsible,  hut  our  own  act  in  violation  of 
public  faith  and  pledged  honor  of  the  state  ivould  sink  Minnesota, 
for  all  time  to  come,  beneath  the  contempt  and  indignation  of  the 
civilized  world. ' '  ^ 

The  relation  of  Governor  Sibley  to  the  Minnesota  state 
bonds,  during  his  administration,  was  a  relation  in  every  way 
most  honorable  to  himself,  both  personally  and  officially.  A 
regret  was  once  expressed  by  the  governor,  and  shared  in  by 
his  friends,  that  he  had  not  resisted  the  decision  of  the  supreme 
court,  and  refused  to  obey  its  writ.  This  was  but  natural 
under  the  circumstances.  He  was  under  no  compulsion  to 
conform  his  executive  action  to  the  order  of  the  court,  which 
was  only  a  co-ordinate,  not  superior,  branch  of  the  state  gov- 
ernment, powerless  to  enforce  its  mandate  on  the  chief  execu- 
tive, who  was  independent  of  its  jurisdiction.  Nor,  had  he 
seen  fit  to  disrespect  the  writ,  could  the  supreme  court  have 
availed  itself  of  the  fact  that,  as  yet,  the  independence  of  the 
executive  had  not  been  judicially  declared.  The  Constitution 
is  above  the  court,  and  guarantees  this  independence.  Not- 
withstanding this,  his  character  shines  all  the  more  brightly 
in  this,  that  preferring  to  avoid  the  scandal  of  an  open  conflict 
between  the  two  co-ordinate  branches  of  government,  bringing 
damage  to  the  credit  of  the  state,  in  a  crisis  so  important,  he 
waived  a  legal  technicality,  anxious  only  that  both  branches 
of  the  government  might  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder,  and  effect 
the  best  possible  result  in  the  matter  of  a  loan  so  enormous  to 
the  infant  state  as  that  of  $5,000,000.  All  that  remained  for 
the  governor  to  do  was  to  exact,  rigorously,  every  requirement 
of  the  law,  protect  to  the  utmost  the  credit  of  the  state,  and  so 
afford  the  railroad  companies  the  least  possible  opportunity  to 
default.  If  blame  rests  anywhere,  it  would  seem  to  rest  upon 
the  supreme  court  in  entertaining  a  case  over  which  it  had  no 
jurisdiction  by  the  Constitution.  Resistance  to  the  mandate 
would  have  been  ill  advised  under  the  circumstances.    The 


1  Senate  Journal,  1859-18G0,  p.  15. 


238  ANCESTEY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

scandal  would  have  arrested  the  progress  of  the  state.  Had 
the  supreme  court  said  to  the  companies,  what  it  subsequently 
said  to  Selah  Chamberlain  when  applying  to  compel  the  gov- 
ernor to  issue  $25,000  of  railroad  bonds  to  him,  under  the  loan 
amendment,  viz.,  ^^  This  court  will  not  undertake  to  compel  the 
governor  of  the  state  to  the  performance  of  any  duty  devolving  on 
him  as  the  chief  executive,  and 2)ertaining  to  his  office,^ ^^  all  had 
been  well.  It  seems  a  clear  misjudgment  to  regard  the  waiver 
of  the  governor,  who  thereby  sought  only  the  peace  and  pros- 
l^erity  of  the  state,  as  a  ground  for  exercising  jurisdiction 
where  none  existed,  and  rendering  an  interpretation  adverse 
to  that  of  the  chief  executive,  in  a  matter  of  such  vital  mo- 
ment. 

To  say,  as  often  as  has  been  said,  in  times  of  party  excite- 
ment, that  the  state  bonds,  debt,  and  dishonor,  were  "created 
by  the  governor,"  or  by  "a  Democratic  administration,"  or 
by  the  "Democratic  party,"  is  to  falsify  history,  and  attribute 
to  one  class  of  citizens  a  responsibility  created  and  accepted 
by  all.  The  intention  of  the  people  of  the  state  was  good. 
The  courage  of  tbe  governor  was  as  grand  as  his  motives  were 
praiseworthy,  and  his  conduct  unassailable.  Now  that  the 
supreme  court  had  granted  the  mandamus,  and  the  executive 
had  issued  the  bonds  to  the  companies,  it  was  the  duty  of  every 
good  citizen,  and  especially  of  those  who  so  overwhelmingly 
had  adopted  the  loan  amendment,  to  exert  themselves,  to  the 
utmost,  to  maintain  the  public  credit  of  the  state.  The  polit- 
iciii  parties  were  almost  equally  divided,  Governor  Sibley's 
majority  over  that  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Eamsey,  the  opposing 
candidate,  at  the  time  of  election,  being  but  small.  Eepubli- 
cans  not  less  than  Democrats  were  bound  to  promote  the  suc- 
cess of  the  enterprise  they  had  in  common  inaugurated.  On 
the  contrary,  the  fact  remains,  so  far  as  a  party  question  is 
concerned,  that,  notwithstanding  tlie  adoption  of  the  amend- 
ment, the  mandamus,  and  the  issuance  of  the  bonds,  the  Re- 
publican press  and  influential  men  of  the  party  made  persist- 
ent warfare  on  the  bonds,  injuring  the  name  of  the  state, 
threatening  repudiation,  warning  capitalists  everywhere 
against  them,  liindering  negotiation,  and  completely  thwarting 
the  clfoit  of  Governor  Sibley  to  place  them  in  New  York,  which, 
but  for  this  adverse  influence,  had  been  successful.  It  is  unde- 
niable that,  in  the  heat  of  party  passion,  <luring  those  memo- 

1  fivAi\  MiiincHoliiSt.  Hep.,  r.imilan,  Vol.  IV,  p.  22!). 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  239 

rable  years  of  1859-1860,  when  the  nation  was  entering  ni)on 
the  throes  of  civil  war,  and  the  "negro  question  "  was  in  the 
ascendant,  the  "Eepnblican  repudiators"  of  that  time,  as  well 
as  others,  took  advantage  of  that  occasion  to  excite  distrust 
everywhere,  openly  assail  the  bonds  as  "fraudulent,"  repre- 
sent them  thus  to  the  incoming  immigration  unfamiliar  with 
the  facts,  and  so  "gained  control  of  the  power  of  the  state  as 
against  the  Democratic  party  then  upholding  the  integrity 
and  honor  of  Minnesota."  ^  Of  this  Governor  Sibley  had  cer- 
tainly the  right  to  complain,  as  he  did  later  on,  of  Governor 
Austin's  message  to  the  legislature,  in  1871,  describing  the 
bonds  as  of  "questionable  validity."  Political  prepossession 
is  not  always  regardful  of  accuracy,  and  it  is  but  right  that 
the  people  of  the  state  should  know,  for  all  coming  time,  that 
the  celebrated  "Five  Million  Loan"  was  no  party  measure, 
and  that  if  an  "offensive  odor  attaches  to  the  reminiscence  of 
it,"  the  strength  of  that  perfume  was  su implied  by  the  party 
opposed  to  the  administration  then  in  power,  a  party,  to  whom, 
most  of  all,  the  unamended  Constitution  of  the  state  was  in- 
debted for  its  passage. 

It  will  be  a  mistake,  however,  of  grave  character,  should 
anyone  think  that  railroad  and  state  bonds  were  the  only  in- 
terests that  commanded  the  consideration  of  the  people,  the 
legislature,  and  the  chief  executive,  during  Governor  Sibley's 
administration.  The  vindication  of  the  majesty  of  the  law 
against  mob  violence,  as  in  the  case  of  what  is  known  as  the 
"Wright  County  War,"  illustrates  the  firmness  of  the  govern- 
or's determination  to  resist  anarchy  and  defend  the  rights  of 
justice  at  whatever  cost  to  the  state.  The  organization  of  the 
militia  force  for  the  defense  of  the  state,  and  the  revision  of 
the  military  laws;  the  proclamation  to  all  officers  of  the  law  to 
arrest  and  prosecute  Indians  of  whatever  bands,  guilty  of  mur- 
ders and  depredations;  the  recommendation  of  better  statutes 
for  the  pursuit  and  capture  of  fugitives  from  justice,  of  larger 
encouragement  to  immigration,  of  reducing  the  election  dis- 
tricts in  order  to  diminish  the  representation  in  the  legislature; 
frequent  signing  of  bills  that  met  his  approval,  and  vetoes  of 
bills  that  did  not  commend  themselves  to  his  judgment,  and 
none  of  which  were  passed  over  his  head;  the  importance  of 
attention  to  the  question  of  normal  schools,  and  the  opening 

1  General  Sibley's  Speech  in  the  Legislature  of  1871.— St.  Paul  Daily  Press,  February  9, 
1871 ;  St.  A  nthony^Democrat,  February  15,  1871. 


240  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES    OF 

of  the  university  as  soon  as  possible;  the  condition  of  agricul- 
ture and  commerce;  in  short,  recommendations  and  special 
messages,  in  large  number,  concerning  all  the  affairs  of  state, 
with  a  vast  routine  business  imposed  by  the  wants  and  needs 
of  a  state  just  born,  —  all  this  engaged  his  ceaseless  and  un- 
tiring attention. 

Such  was  Governor  Sibley's  administration;  a  period  of 
public  service  which  expired  January  1, 1860.  None  more  emi- 
nent, worthy,  honored,  or  respected,  ever  sat  in  a  gubernatorial 
chair.  Impartial  in  his  appointments,  free  from  partisan 
passion,  conscientious  and  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  his 
duties,  independent,  fearless,  and  free  from  corruption,  anxious 
for  the  honor  and  credit  of  the  state  whose  first  chair  he 
adorned,  upright  and  just  in  his  ways,  commanding,  yet  kind 
and  courteous  to  all,  and  amenable  to  the  approach  of  the  hum- 
blest citizen  within  the  commonwealth,  he  presented  himself  a 
model  for  all  his  successors.  So  long  as  the  history  of  Minne- 
sota remains,  checkered  as  it  is,  so  long  the  example  of  her 
first  governor  will  abide  untarnished,  a  memorial  of  honor  to 
the  state,  and  a  monument  of  praise  to  his  name. 

The  three  years  next  following  the  close  of  Governor  Sib- 
ley's administration  were  eventful,  beyond  all  anticipation,  in 
the  history  of  the  human  race,  whether  we  consider  the  na- 
tions of  the  Old  World,  or  regard  only  the  United  States.  To 
omit  notice  of  this  fact,  in  any  sketch  of  the  times  of  ex-Gov- 
ernor Sibley,  is  an  offense,  unpardonable,  against  the  claims  of 
history.  The  year  1860  was  a  year  remarkable  in  the  history 
of  the  civilized  world.  Unusual  events  were  pulsating  every- 
where, affecting  the  destinies  of  empires  and  of  dynasties. 
Among  the  signs  of  the  times  were  Eussia  emancipating  50,000,  - 
000  serfs;  Kossuth  struggling  for  the  freedom  of  Hungary; 
Austria,  in  atonement  for  Magenta  and  Solferino,  giving  parlia- 
mentary government  to  the  people;  Garibaldi  fighting  for  the 
liberation  of  Italy,  from  the  Alps  to  the  Adriatic;  Sardinia 
breaking  away  from  Eome,  and  absorbing  one  Italian  state 
after  another;  Pio  Nono  issuing  his  encyclical;  Germany 
marching  to  representative  unity;  Spain  ejecting  her  queen 
and  giving  the  ballot  to  the  people;  France,  the  tumultuating 
cradh;  of  continental  liberty,  struggling,  once  more,  to  regain 
for  herself  tiie  boon  she  had  offered  to  others;  in  short,  180,000,- 
000  of  Europeans,  lifting  themselves  up  from  degrading  vas- 
salage to  the  rank  of  self-governing  and  enlightened  freemen. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  241 

The  same  spirit  of  progress  in  civilization  was  throbbing 
throughout  the  United  States,  save  where  the  shackles  still 
clanked  on  the  limbs  of  the  negro,  and  chained  even  the  white 
man  to  an  institution  his  better  nature  abhorred.  Open  re- 
volt was  proclaimed  against  the  system  of  American  slavery, 
"Constitution  or  no  Constitution."  The  compromise  meas- 
ures, the  fugitive  slave  law,  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  the  doc- 
trine of  President  Buchanan  and  the  extreme  men  of  the  South, 
that  slavery  is  national,  entitled  to  go  wherever  the  flag  floats, 
by  constitutional  right,  and  the  Southern  threat  of  secession, 
all  had  aroused  the  North  to  the  deep  consciousness  that  only 
the  arbitrament  of  war  could  cut  the  knot  of  a  national  prob- 
lem which  all  argument  had  failed  to  solve.  Civil  revolution 
was  already  in  the  air.  South  Carolina  was  preparing  to  fire 
on  Fort  Sumter,  and  "John  Brown's  soul"  was  "marching 
on  "  to  Harper's  Ferry!  It  was  a  year  of  portents  everywhere, 
with  omens  as  well  in  the  heavens  as  on  earth.  Donati's 
comet  of  1858  was  followed  by  Encke's  of  1860,  and  "the  hairy 
monsters  of  the  upper  sky,"  brilliant,  yet  shaking  pestilence, 
war,  and  famine,  from  their  "  horrid  locks,"  reminded  men  of 
Halley's  comet  of  1456,  which  lighted  the  Turks  to  the  cap- 
ture of  Constantinople  and  invasion  of  Europe,  and  sent  all 
Christendom  to  its  knees  with  ^^Ave  Marie''''  on  its  lips,  ending 
in  the  prayer,  ^^From  the  Devil,  the  TurTc,  and  the  Comet,  Good 
Lord,  deliver  us! ''^ 

We,  of  to-day,  look  back  to  that  time  with  emotions  of  min- 
gled amazement  and  awe.  The  civilization  of  the  nineteenth 
century  was  changing  front,  millions  not  knowing  the  fact, 
and  accounting  for  things  by  second  and  proximate  causes 
which  were  only  the  occasions,  and  not  the  ultimate  or  first 
cause,  of  the  mighty  changes  occurring.  From  equator  to 
pole,  and  moving  under  the  path  of  the  sun,  and  trembling 
with  the  magnetic  currents  of  the  globe,  the  minds  of  men 
were  agitated  with  deepest  emotion.  Chains  were  breaking. 
The  genius  of  Liberty  was  walking  abroad,  and,  with  the  touch 
of  Ithuriel's  spear,  testing  all  the  establishments  of  earth, 
wounding  to  death  the  various  forms  of  despotic  power,  gray 
superstition,  and  institutional  wrong,  which,  for  centuries, 
had  imposed  on  the  world,  under  the  names  of  religion,  gov- 
ernment, order  and  law,  loyalty,  love,  and  good  will  to  men! 
The  lying  pretense  was  unmasked.  In  the  United  States, 
with  a  policy  far  more  liberal  and  comprehensive  than  the 


242  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

boasted  constitutions  of  Greece  or  Eome,  the  counter  fact 
of  slavery  still  confronted  the  profession  of  freedom  that 
streamed  from  the  "Stars  and  Stripes,"  a  contradiction  the 
people  were  bound  to  wipe  out.  The  spirit  of  Liberty,  ris- 
ing in  beauteous  form,  wearing  her  spangled  cap,  and  wav- 
ing her  flag  to  the  nations,  threw  off  the  fetters  by  which  men 
sought  to  bind  her,  redeemed  to  herself  the  rights  of  her  early 
days,  and  extended  a  smile  of  promise  and  hope  to  the  poor 
African,  long  the  degraded  victim  of  avarice  and  lust.  "  Man 
as  Man''''  became  an  object  of  respect.  Tenets  were  transfer- 
red from  theory  to  practice.  The  lofty  sentiments  it  was 
dangerous  to  utter  in  presence  of  organized  power  received  a 
free  ventilation,  and  systems  of  government,  analyzed  to  their 
first  principles,  and  pursued  to  their  legitimate  consequences, 
were  the  staple  of  debate  in  every  mouth.  That  '"'■rara  tem- 
porum  felicitas'^  of  which  Tacitus  speaks, —  when  men  could 
think  as  they  pleased,  and  say  what  they  thought, — began  to 
reappear. 

This  mighty  movement  of  the  century  culminated  in  the 
sixth  decade  of  the  century.  It  divided  the  whole  American 
nation  into  four  opposing  political  parties  in  the  summer  of 
1860;  the  Northern  Democracy  under  the  lead  of  the  "Little 
Giant,"  Stephen  A.  Douglas  of  Illinois;  the  Southern  Democracy 
under  the  lead  of  John  C.  Breckenridge  of  Kentucky;  the  Con- 
stitutional Union  party  under  the  lead  of  John  Bell  of  Tennessee; 
and  the  Republican  party  under  the  lead  of  Abraham  Lincoln 
of  Illinois.  The  Republicans  demanded  the  extinction  of 
slavery  in  the  states,  and  the  prohibition  of  it  in  the  terri- 
tories, at  once,  by  congressional  legislation  and  amendment 
of  the  Constitution,  resisting  the  execution  of  the  fugitive  slave 
law.  The  Constitutional  Union  party,  evading  the  issues  of 
the  hour,  tried  to  mediate  the  opposing  elements  by  plati- 
tudes, jjowerless  to  impress  earnc^st  souls,  or  win  for  itself  the 
respect  of  courageous  men.  The  Southern  Democrats  insist- 
ed on  slaveiy  as  national,  or  else  secession  from  the  Union. 
They  recjuired  a  strict  fulfilhnent,  by  the  North,  of  the  con- 
stitutional guarantee  regarding  the  right  of  the  master  to  the 
rendition  of  his  slave,  or  else  the  enjoyment  of  the  reserved 
right  to  go  out  of  the  Union,  plighted  faith  being  no  longer 
respected.  The  Northern  Democrats,  recognizing  the  fact  of 
the  constitutional  right  of  the  South  to  their  slaves,  and  the 
right  of  revolution  or  secession  jis  well,  where  national  faith 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  243 

and  constitutional  compact  no  longer  availed,  were  yet  un- 
willing to  concede  the  claim  of  the  South,  that  slavery  is 
national,  and  goes  by  right  wherever  the  flag  floats,  and  that, 
not  only  slavery  in  the  states,  but  also  slavery  in  the  terri- 
tories, and  even  the  slave  trade  itself  on  the  high  seas,  is 
bound  to  be  protected  by  Congress. 

To  the  Northern  Democrats  ex-Governor  Sibley  belonged, 
and  Minnesota,  with  the  whole  Northwest,  ranged  herself 
under  the  banner  of  Douglas.  Momentous  as  the  approach- 
ing canvass  for  the  presidential  election  might  be,  clear  and 
distinct  as  was  the  threat  of  secession,  should  the  Eepublican 
party  prevail,  yet  Mr,  Sibley  refused  to  acknowledge  the 
claim  of  the  South  to  separate  possession  of  not  only  all  the 
old  slave  states,  but  also  Louisiana,  Florida,  and  Texas,  cost- 
ing the  United  States  $500,000,000  of  money,  now  to  be  erected 
into  a  foreign  government,  upon  the  basis  of  the  denial  of 
popular  sovereignty  or  right  of  the  people  to  choose  their  own 
institutions,  the  negation  of  the  first  broad  principle  in  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  the  assertion  of  the  nationality 
and  perpetuity  of  slavery,  the  control  of  the  Mississippi  river, 
and  the  unfurling  of  a  new  flag  as  the  emblem  of  '■'■Slavery, 
the  Corner  Stone  of  Free  Institutions! ' '  To  disintegrate  the  Union 
and  divide  the  territory  for  such  a  purpose  as  this  was  more 
than  his  strong  Jeffersonian  principles  would  allow.  He  re- 
membered that  the  motto  on  the  escutcheon  of  the  United 
States,  ^^E  Plurihus  Ummi,^^  dissolved  neither  the  ^^ Pluribus^^ 
nor  the  '^  Unum,^^  and  that  the  early  sentiment  of  the  Fathers, 
like  that  of  "Old  Virginia,"  was  not  the  perpetuation,  but  the 
gradual  removal,  of  slavery  from  the  country;  that  the  motto 
was  reported  by  Jefferson,  Adams,  and  Franklin,  on  the  same 
day,  July  4,  1776,  and  to  the  same  convention,  which,  amid 
the  ringing  of  bells  and  shouts  of  the  people,  carried,  by 
acclamation,  the  ^^Declaration;  "  that  it  was  a  motto  meant  to 
express  the  idea,  not  of  secession,  but  of  ^^ Federal  Union;  ^^  and 
that,  from  the  six  quarterings  and  seven  spaces  of  the  national 
shield,  arose  the  thirteen  "stripes"  transferred  to  the  na- 
tional flag,  the  thirteen  "stars"  representing  the  number  of 
the  original  states  forming  the  Union.  A  tradition  so  glori- 
ous, and  an  heirloom  so  precious,  were  not  to  be  thrown  away, 
for  the  scene  of  dual  governments  on  the  same  soil,  the  one 
slave,  the  other  free,  both  belligerent,  and  both  doomed  to 
extinction  by  mutual  hate  and  ultimate  foreign  interference. 


244  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

While  maintaining,  in  his  message  to  the  state  legislature, 
January  3,  1858,  the  doctrine  of  "nonintervention  on  the 
part  of  the  United  States,  or  of  one  state,  with  the  domestic 
affairs  of  any  other  state  or  territory,  as  the  only  safe  and 
correct  principle,  and  the  corner  stone  of  the  Union,"  thus 
leaving  to* states  and  territories  the  right  to  adjust  and  deter- 
mine their  own  domestic  affairs,  he  asserted,  no  less  clearly, 
* '  the  duty  of  the  people  to  respond  to  any  call  that  may  be 
made  upon  us  by  the  federal  government  for  aid  in  repelling 
assaults,  from  within  or  without,  upon  that  glorious  union  of 
states  of  which  we  now  form  a  component  part."^  Descended 
from  Puritan  stock,  yet  bound  by  ties  of  relationship  to  men 
of  the  South,  he  saw  in  the  rising  storm  the  antagonism  of 
two  differing  forms  of  civilization,  sprung  from  two  different 
nuclei,  the  one  at  Plymouth  Rock,  the  other  at  Jamestown, 
Virginia,  whose  collision,  in  Kansas,  echoed  in  the  stroke  of 
Brooks'  cane  upon  Sumner's  head  in  the  senate  of  the  United 
States.  He  was  enlightened  enough  to  know  that  the  outcome 
of  such  a  conflict  could  neither  be  doubtful  nor  long  delayed. 
A  practical  test  of  the  conduct  of  ex- Governor  Sibley  was 
soon  afforded.  The  j^residential  canvass  approached.  With 
seven  others,  Messrs.  Gorman,  Becker,  Fridley,  Edgerton, 
Cavanaugh,  Phelps,  and  Rosser,  Mr.  Sibley  was  elected  by 
the  Democratic  State  Convention  to  represent  the  state  in  the 
Democratic  National  Convention  to  meet  at  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  April  23, 1860,  to  nominate  a  president  for  the  whole 
country.  The  Democratic  vote  of  the  state  was,  overwhelm- 
ingly, like  that  of  the  Democratic  vote  of  the  whole  Northwest, 
in  favor  of  Douglas.  Every  effort,  however,  to  "instruct"  the 
delegation  to  "cast  its  vote  as  a  unit,"  and  stand  by  Douglas  in 
the  great  crisis,  having  been  baffled,  the  delegation  proceeded 
to  Charleston,  and  held  its  first  meeting  on  the  morning  of  the 
day  the  national  convention  met.  A  dispatch  to  the  city  of 
St.  Paul  announced  ''Defection  in  the  Minnesota  delegation.''^ "^ 
It  seemed  that,  under  the  plea  of  freedom,  conscience,  and  the 
right  of  private  judgment  in  public  concerns,  a  portion  of  the 
<lelegation  felt  tliemselves  at  liberty  to  set  aside  the  "man" 
who  wavS  tlie  choice  of  the  Democratic  party  in  Minnesota, 
and,  whensoever  they  pleased,  vote  for  whomsoever  they  liked, 
uncontrolled  by  further  regard  for  the  public  sentiment  at 

1  Senate  Journal,  p.  :t77. 

2  I'ionwr  and  I)eniocral,  April  :tf),  IRfiO. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  245 

home.  Individualism  collided  with  representative  responsi- 
bility and  representative  relations.  The  effort  of  the  dele- 
gation to  act  as  a  "unit"  for  Douglas,  continuously,  was 
defeated  in  Charleston,  one  member  of  the  delegation  with- 
drawing from  its  deliberations,  and  two  others  deserting  Mr. 
Douglas. 

Mr.  Sibley  having  been  selected  to  represent  Minnesota  in 
the  National  Committee  on  Credentials,  the  convention  met 
at  the  appointed  time  and  place.  The  capacious  hall  of  the 
institute  seated  2,500  persons,  a  hall  whose  frescoes  were  the 
work  of  the  brother  of  the  famous  Garibaldi.  J^ot  a  Union 
flag  streamed  in  the  breeze  or  displayed  its  folds  in  the  hall,  save 
where  it  was  introduced  by  Northern  men.  The  "Rattle- snake 
Flag"  floated  from  the  citadel  during  the  whole  time  of  the 
convention,  while,  from  the  seats  assigned  in  the  hall  to 
Southern  ladies,  came  storms  of  hisses  for  every  delegate  who 
dared  to  speak  in  favor  of  the  Union.  Loyal  to  the  over- 
whelming sentiment  of  his  state,  Mr.  Sibley  and  four  others  of 
the  delegation  stood  by  Douglas,  with  unwavering  constancy, 
from  first  to  last,  upon  every  ballot  and  battle-field  of  the  con- 
vention, doing  honor  to  the  "ma/t"  whose  ^^ principles'^  the 
state  indorsed,  and  who  had  been  so  fast  and  firm  a  friend  to 
the  Territory  and  State  of  Minnesota  alike,  and  had  cham- 
pioned their  cause  in  every  crisis.  In  that  memorable  strug- 
gle at  Charleston,  between  the  opposing  sections  of  the  party, 
no  less  than  fifty-seven  ballots  were  cast  for  the  presidential 
candidates,  the  two-thirds  rule  for  a  nomination  having  been 
adopted,  and  no  nominee  having  been  chosen.  On  the  first 
ballot  Mr.  Douglas  received  145^  votes;  on  the  twenty-third, 
1522;  on  the  thirty-fifth,  152;  on  the  fifty-seventh,  15L],  com- 
ing within  15  votes  of  the  two-thirds  necessary  to  a  choice. 
On  the  ninth  ballot,  the  Minnesota  delegation  broke,  in  their 
vote,  a  portion  deserting  Mr.  Douglas,  and  casting  their  votes, 
now  for  Andrew  Johnson,  and  now  for  Daniel  S.  Dickinson. 
On  the  eighth  day  of  the  convention  the  South  presented  its 
^^ ultimatum,' '  embodying  the  "only  terms  on  which,  in  pro- 
priety, it  could  remain  in  the  convention,"  viz.,  the  national- 
ity of  slavery  under  the  Constitution,  the  "slave  pens"  and 
"auction  block,"  in  the  city  of  Charleston,  being  open  to  the 
inspection  of  the  members  of  the  convention!  Upon  the  fifty- 
seventh  ballot,  the  delegates  from  several  Southern  states 
^^ seceded.'"     The  convention   was    " split.''     It  adjourned  to 


246  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

meet  in  Baltimore,  June  18,  1860,  in  order  to  give  the  unrep- 
resented states  opportunity  to  supply  their  deficiency.  June 
23,  1860,  Mr.  Douglas,  the  favorite  of  Minnesota,  received  the 
nomination,  amid  the  wildest  and  most  uncontrollable  excite- 
ment. The  Democratic  party  of  the  North  shed  no  tears  over 
the  dying  convulsions  of  an  administration  which,  in  1857, 
false  to  its  own  principles,  abandoned  the  doctrine  of  popular 
sovereignty,  swallowed  the  Lecompton  constitution,  held  bond- 
age to  be  national,  and  sought  to  "slavocratize"  the  Ameri- 
can people.  ''Essences,  tinctures,  and  pills"  were  useless  at 
Baltimore.  It  died,  at  Charleston,  with  no  mourners  to  la- 
ment its  fate,  and  no  successor  to  perpetuate  its  name. 

The  world  knows  what  followed;  how  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
elected,  November,  1860,  what  dangers  attended  his  path,  and 
with  what  madness  South  Carolina  seceded,  December  20, 
1860.  At  half-past  four  o'clock,  exactly,  Friday  afternoon, 
April  25,  1861,  the  Civil  War  commenced  in  Charleston  Har- 
bor, the  first  gun  being  fired  at  Fort  Sumter.  As  a  "War 
Democrat," — often  assailed  and  misrepresented  by  the  ex- 
treme radical  and  party  passion  of  the  times, — Mr.  Sibley 
remained  loyal  to  the  flag  of  his  country,  aiding  to  place  regi- 
ments in  the  field  of  battle,  contributing  of  his  own  means  to 
their  personal  comfort  and  need,  and  laboring  with  rare  devo- 
tion for  the  welfare  of  his  country  and  state,  till  the  proud 
day,  when,  from  the  balcony  of  the  International  Hotel  in  St. 
Paul,  April  8,  1865,  "he  read  a  telegram  announcing  the  sur- 
render of  Lee  and  his  army,  the  crowd  fairly  exploding  with 
delirious  excitement."  ^ 

1  Hist,  of  St.  Paul,  etc.,  by  Williams,  p.  418. 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 

MILITARY  CAREER  OF  EX-GOVERNOR  SIBLEY. —  PROPHETIC  WORDS  FUL- 
FILLED.—  THE  CIVIL  WAR.  —  THE  GREAT  SIOUX  OUTBREAK  AND  MASSA- 
CRE OF  1862,  LED  BY  LITTLE  CROW.— DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  MASSACRE 
AND  DEVASTATION. —  DIMENSIONS  OF  ITS  BARBARITIES. —  CAUSES  OF 
IT.  —  IMMEDIATE  OCCASION  OF  IT. —  THE  OPPORTUNITY  FOR  IT. — 
ALL  EYES  TURNED  TO  THE  HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  AS  THE 
ONLY  MAN  FOR  THE  EMERGENCY.  —  NEW  ULM  ATTACKED.  —  JUDGE 
FLANDRAU  TO  THE  RESCUE.  —  FORT  RIDGLEY  ATTACKED. —  REDWOOD 
AGENCY  ATTACKED. —  GOVERNOR  RAMSEY  COMMISSIONS  EX-GOVERNOR 
SIBLEY  WITH  THE  RANK  OF  COLONEL  AND  POWERS  OF  A  GENERAL 
COMMANDING  THE  STATE  FORCES,  AUGUST  20,  1862. —  FIRST  MILI- 
TARY EXPEDITION.  —  SCENES. —  ENERGY  AND  WISDOM  OF  COLONEL 
SIBLEY. —  CLAMOR  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  —  UTTER  DEFENSELESSNESS  OF 
MINNESOTA. —  POWERFUL  FOE.  —  CRUSHING  RESPONSIBILITY.  —  THE  OB- 
JECTS OF  THE  EXPEDITION  AGAINST  THE  SIOUX,  THREE  IN  NUMBER. — 
COLONEL  SIBLEY'S  MILITARY  PREPARATIONS. —  ADVANCES  IN  FORCE. 
REACHES  FORT  RIDGLEY. —  MAJOR  JOSEPH  R.  BROWN  AND  THE  BURY- 
ING PARTY.  —  SNARED  AT  BIRCH  COOLIE.  —  BATTLE  OF   BIRCH   COOLIE. 

—  MIDNIGHT    MARCH  OF  COLONEL  SIBLEY. —  DEFEAT  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

—  BRAVE  RESISTANCE  OP  MAJOR  BROWN'S  MEN. —  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE 
VICTORY. —  COLONEL  SIBLEY  RETURNS  TO  FORT  RIDGLEY. —  NOTICE  TO 
LITTLE  CROW. —  CORRESPONDENCE.  —  THE  CAPTIVES  IN  LITTLE  CROW'S 
HANDS. —WISDOM  NEEDED. —  INSANE  HOWLING  AND  BLIND  ACCUSA- 
TION OF  COLONEL  SIBLEY  BY  THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  PRESS. —  DIFFI- 
CULT TASK. —  NOTES  FROM  COLONEL  SIBLEY'S  DIARY.  —  REINFORCE- 
MENTS.— CAVALRY  NEEDED. — PROVISIONS. — AMMUNITION. — GENERAL 
pope's  view  of  the  situation. — COLONEL  SIBLEY'S  STRATEGY. — 
ADVANCES. —  DECISIVE  BATTLE  OF  WOOD  LAKE.  —  LITTLE  CEOW'S 
POWER  BROKEN. — COLONEL  SIBLEY  PROMOTED  TO  THE  RANK  OF  BRIGA- 
DIER GENERAL.  —  FLIGHT  OF  LITTLE  CROW. —  "  CAMP  RELEASE."  — 
APPROACH  TO  AND  CAPTURE  OF  THE  CAMP.  —  THE  CAPTIVES  RELEASED. 

—  THRILLING  SCENES  AROUND  THE  PERSON  OF  GENERAL  SIBLEY. — 
TEARS,  JOY,  JUBILEE,  CONVULSIVE  TRANSPORTS. —  DIVINE  PROVIDENCE. 

—  "deliverer  of  MINNESOTA'S  CAPTIVES!" — MILITARY  COMMIS- 
SION.—  THE  INDIANS  MANACLED. — FOUR  HUNDRED  AND  TWENTY-FIVE 
CHIEF  CRIMINALS  TRIED.  —  THREE  HUNDRED  AND  THREE  CONDEMNED 
TO  DEATH. —  ONE  THOUSAND  EIGHT  HUNDRED  INDIANS  SENT  TO  FORT 
SNELLING. —  FIVE  HUNDRED  DOLLARS  REWARD  FOR  CAPTURE  OF 
LITTLE  CROW  — TELEGRAM  TO  WASHINGTON,  "  SIOUX  WAR  ENDED  !  " — 
BRITISH  SYMPATHY  WITH  THE  INDIANS  AND  WITH  THE  SOUTHERN 
CONFEDERACY.  —  RESULTS  OF  THIS  CAMPAIGN.  —  GENERAL  SIBLEY  THE 
GENERAL  COMMANDING  THE  MILITARY  DISTRICT  OF  MINNESOTA. — 
DEATH  SENTENCES  OF  THE  CONDEMNED  INDIANS  COMMUTED  BY  PRESI- 
DENT LINCOLN. — ORDER  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  TO  GENERAL  SIBLEY. 


248  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

NAMES  OF  THE  DOOMED  INDIANS. —  MILITARY  DISPATCHES. —  ORDER 
OF  GENERAL  SIBLEY  TO  COLONEL  STEPHEN  MILLER.  —  THIRTY-EIGHT 
EXECUTED  TOGETHER. —  HISTORY  OF  THE  EXECUTION.  —  TOUCHING 
SCENES. —  HORRID  SCENES. —  THE  SCAFFOLD. — ACTION  OF  CONGRESS. — 
SIOUX  AND  WINNEBAGOES  REMOVED  FROM  THE  STATE.  —  THE  INDIANS 
NOT  ALL  IN  THE  WRONG.  —  FEARFUL  RESPONSIBILITY.  —  PROGRESS  OF 
THE  WHITE  RACE.  —  FATE  OF  THE  INDIAN. —  "  OUR  CIVILIZATION." 
—  WHITE  man's  BRUTALITIES   AND   CRIMES. —  DAY   OF  JUDGMENT. 

We  come  now  to  the  military  career  of  ex  Governor  Sibley, 
more  arduous  and  not  less  responsible  than  his  political  career. 
The  same  Providence  that  called  him  to  be  the  "Prince  of 
Pioneers"  in  Western  wilds,  the  founder  of  the  territory,  and 
first  governor  of  the  state,  chose  him  also  to  be  the  deliverer 
of  the  state,  in  the  third  year  of  her  existence,  from  an  Indian 
war  whose  massacres  are  unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  Ameri- 
can history.  The  prophetic  words  he  spoke  in  Congress, 
Cassandra  like,  foreboding  retribution  for  the  wrongs  and 
outrages  committed  upon  the  red  man,  were  now  translated 
into  fearful  fact:  The  apocalyptic  "Eagle"  seemed  to  be  fly- 
ing, mid-heaven,  crying  with  its  terror-striking  voice,  "Ouai! 
Ouai!  Ouai!  Woe!  Woe!  Woe!  to  the  dwellers  on  the  earth  by 
reason  of  the  angels  yet  to  sound!  " 

The  nation  was  under  judgment.  One  woe,  the  Civil  War, 
had  begun.  Another  woe,  the  Indian  massacre,  now  followed. 
On  the  morning  of  Monday,  August  18,  1862,  as  if  a  volcano 
filled  with  lava  of  fire  and  blood  had  suddenly  discharged  its 
contents  on  the  earth,  the  Sioux  massacre  burst  upon  the 
breast  of  Minnesota,  terrific  and  unexampled,  covering  her 
soil  with  the  blood  of  her  children,  and,  amid  horrors  of 
devastation  and  death,  spreading  anguish  and  consternation 
on  every  side.  The  very  hour  when,  dreaming  of  "  Peace  and 
Safety,"  sudden  destruction  came.  In  that  moment,  when 
her  citizens  were  congratulating  each  other  at  being  so  far 
removed  from  the  scene  of  civil  war,  a  merciless  and  furious 
enemy  perfected  a  plan  with  marvelous  secrecy,  which,  in 
an  instant,  let  loose  ui^on  her  unsusi^ecting  settlers  almost  a 
thousand  warriors  of  the  most  warlike  of  all  the  Indian  tribes 
upon  the  continent,  reveling  in  a  carnival  of  indiscriminate 
and  cruel  butchery,  killing  men,  women,  and  children,  saving 
only  girls  of  tender  years,  and  comely  females,  to  minister  to 
their  brutal  apiietit<\s.  Many  of  the  young  were  ravished  in 
presence  of  their  dying  parents,  and  in  various  instances  the 
torch  w{is  applied  to  the  dwellings  in  which  the  victims  had  met 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  249 

their  fate,  before  they  ceased  to  exist.  From  Otter  Tail  lake  and 
Fort  Abercrombie  on  the  Red  river,  southwardly,  to  the  Iowa 
border,  a  distance  of  two  hundred  miles,  and,  eastward,  from 
Big  Stone  lake,  on  the  western  shore,  to  Forest  City  in  Meeker 
county,  an  area  of  20,000  square  miles,  embracing  no  less  than 
eighteen  counties  with  a  population  of  40,000  souls,  the  wild 
war-whoop  of  the  naked  Indian,  hideous  in  plumes  and  war- 
paint, the  torch,  the  tomahawk,  the  scalping  knife,  the  rifle, 
the  arrow,  and  all  the  unchained  passions  of  men  insane  with 
the  desperation  of  revenge,  asserted  their  fiendish  supremacy. 
Old  men  staggering  to  the  ground  beneath  the  dull  thud  of 
the  war-club,  infants  brought  to  an  untimely  birth,  nailed  to 
the  door,  or  tossed  to  alight  on  the  limbs  of  the  thorn-tree, 
women  transfixed  to  the  ground  after  abuse  had  exhausted 
itself,  and  young  men  stabbed  to  the  heart,  nameless  atrocities 
to  which  "massacre  itself  were  a  mercy," ^  diversified  the 
orgies  of  this  carnival  of  hell,  until  the  Moloch  of  cruelty  and 
lust,  glutted  to  satiety,  could  ask  no  more.  Over  this  vast 
Aceldama,  the  sky,  at  night,  was  illumined  with  a  lurid  re- 
flected glare  from  the  conflagration  of  burning  homes  below. 
The  blaze  subsiding  here,  was  answered  by  flames  ascending^ 
there.  Homes,  beautiful  a  moment  ago,  now  sank  out  of  sight, 
in  their  ashes,  forever.  The  moan  of  the  dying  and  shriek 
of  the  helpless  filled  the  air.  In  a  week,  and  mostly  within 
forty-eight  hours,  1,000  persons  perished  in  excruciating  pain, 
2,000  more  were  maimed  sufferers  from  the  outrage,  and  8,000, 
who  before  were  comparatively  well- to  do,  were  thrown,  as 
paupers,  on  the  charity  of  individuals,  or  on  the  bounty  of  the 
state.  A  stream  of  80,000  fugitives  rushed  down  the  Minne- 
sota valley,  seeking  protection  in  the  interior  towns  of  the 
state,  or  fleeing  to  neighboring  states,  and  even  to  their  New 
England  friends.  Not  less  than  $2,000,000  worth  of  property 
was  destroyed  in  a  belt  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  and  in 
ten  counties  nothing  was  left.  What  remained  to  testify  to 
the  indescribable  barbarity  and  unsmothered  hate  of  the  sav- 
ages, in  their  descent  upon  a  peaceful  and  prosperous  com- 
munity, was  a  vision  of  widespread  desolation,  dotted  with 
hundreds  of  dead  bodies,  strewn  everywhere,  unsepulchered,. 
and  rotting  in  the  sun.  ^ 

1  Governor  Ramsey's  words. 

2  General  Sibley's  Private  Notes,  p.  5  ;  The  Sioux  War,  by  Heard,  pp.  112-116;  Bryant's 
Indian  Massacre  in  Minn  ,  pp.  414-420;  Hist,  of  Minnesota,  by  Neill,  p.  727;  Kirk's  Illustr, 
Hist,  of  Minnesota,  pp.  140-147.  The  Dakota  War-Whoop,  by  Mrs.  McConkey,  pp.  75-80 
Executive  Documents,  18ii2,  pp.  40-50. 


250  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

As  a  result  of  the  horror,  reason  reeled  in  many  cases,  and 
for  some  who  had  seen  this  infliction  of  brutalities  upon  their 
household,  nothing  was  left  but  stupefaction  at  first,  mechani- 
cal motion  next,  and,  at  last,  the  maniac's  wild  stare,  and  the 
maniac's  sad  wail.  ^ 


1  Note. —  The  annexed  sad  poem  is  worthy  of  preservation,  not  only  because  of  its  lit- 
erary merit,  but  because  of  its  theme.  The  incident  on  which  it  is  founded  was  a  deeply 
touching  one.  When  Colonel  Sibley  dispatched  McPhail  and  his  command  up  the  Minne- 
sota valley  to  raise  the  siege  of  Fort  Kidgley,  Charles  Nelson,  a  Swede,  having  walked,  with 
bleeding  feet,  twenty-five  miles,  joined  the  expedition.  His  dwelling  had  been  burned  to  the 
ground  the  day  previous,  his  daughter  outraged,  the  head  of  his  wife  Lela  cleft  by  the  toma- 
hawk, and,  while  seeking  to  save  himself,  saw,  for  a  moment,  his  two  sons,  Hans  and  Otto, 
rushing  through  the  corn-field,  the  Indians  in  swift  pursuit.  Returning  with  the  troops,  un- 
der McPhail,  and  passing  b^the  ruins  of  his  home,  he  gazed  about  wildly,  acting  mechani- 
cally, and,  closing  the  gate  of  the  garden,  asked :  "When  will  it  be  safe  to  return?"  His 
reason  was  gone!  Captain  Chittenden, of  McPhail's  command,  while  sitting  a  few  days  after 
under  the  Falls  of  Minnehaha,  embodied  in  verse  the  sad  tragedy,  and  has  given  to  the 
world  the  following  lines,  which,  with  the  incident  just  narrated,  Mrs.  Harriet  E.  B.  McCon- 
key  has  made  a  chapter  by  themselves,  entitled  "  The  Maniac"  in  her  admirable  work  "  The 
Dakota  War-Whoop,"  p.  195. 

Minne-ha-ha,  laughing  water, 

Cease  thy  laughing  now  for  aye. 
Savage  hands  arc  red  with  slaughter 

Of  the  innocent  to-day. 

Ill  accords  thy  sportive  humor 

With  their  last  despairing  wail: 
While  thou'rt  dancing  in  the  sunbeam, 

Mangled  corpses  strew  the  vale. 

Cliange  thy  note,  gay  Miune-ha-ha; 
Let  some  sadder  strain  prevail  — 
Listen,  while  a  maniac  wanderer 
Sighs  to  thee  his  woful  tale: 

■"Give  nie  back  my  Lela's  tresses. 
Let  me  kiss  them  once  again  1 
She,  who  blest  me  with  caresses, 
Lies  unburied  on  the  plain! 

"See  yon  smoke;  there  was  my  dwelling; 
That  is  all  I  have  of  homel 
Hark!  I  hear  their  fiendish  yelling. 
As  I,  houseless,  childless,  roam ! 

"Have  they  killed  my  Hans  and  Otto? 
Did  they  find  tln^m  in  the  corn? 
Go  and  toll  that  savage  monster 
Not  to  slay  my  youngest  born. 

"  Yonder  is  my  new-bought  reaper, 
Standing  'mid  the  ripened  grain, 
E'en  my  cow  asks  why  I  leave  her 
Wand'ring,  unmilked,  o'er  the  plain! 

"Soldier,  bury  here  my  Lela; 
Place  me  also  'neath  the  sod; 
Long  we  lived  and  wrought  together — 
Let  me  die  with  her  —  O  Gou! 

"I'aithful  Fido,  you  they've  left  me. 
Can  you  tell  ine,  l''i<io,  wliy 
(lod  at  01ICK  ha.i  thus  herejl  met 
All  I  ask  is  here  to  die. 

"  O,  my  daughtiT  .Jennie,  darling! 

Wors<!  than  death  is  .Jennie's  fate!" 

****** 

Nelson,  as  our  troops  wore  leaving, 
Turni'A  and  shni  Ins  i/arilin  gate. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  251 

The  proximate  causes  which  culminated  in  this  awful 
tragedy  may  be  summed  up  in  a  few  words. 

In  the  first  place,  the  bands  implicated  had,  under  pres- 
sure, been  induced  to  transfer,  by  treaty,  in  1837  and  again  in 
1851,  to  the  United  States  Government,  the  possessory  rights 
to  all  their  immense  lands,  east  and  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
soil  that  contained  the  graves  of  their  fathers  who  had  preoc- 
cupied it  from  time  immemorial,  and  to  consent  to  a  removal 
to  a  reservation,  where  they  would  be  protected  from  intrusion 
by  the  whites,  and  be  generously  provided  for  by  a  magnani- 
mous government,  with  all  the  instrumentalities  requisite  to 
render  them  happy,  self-sustaining  and  contented.  In  express 
terms,  the  treaties  guaranteed  that  every  promise  made  them 
should  be  faithfully  performed.  The  solemnity  of  the  obliga- 
tion was  emphasized.  There  was  a  general  and  intense  dis- 
appointment when  they  found  themselves  deceived  and  trans- 
ferred from  their  own  magnificent  country,  a  paradise  on  earth, 
abounding  in  forests  and  lakes  which  teemed  with  animal 
life,  and  beautified  with  scenery  unrivaled  anywhere,  to  an 
open  prairie  from  which  the  buffalo,  the  elk,  the  deer,  and 
other  game,  had  been  driven,  and  where  they  must,  perforce, 
depend  almost  entirely  upon  the  trader  and  the  government 
for  their  daily  bread.  To  aggravate  their  discontent,  the  pro- 
visions of  the  treaties  were  basely  disregarded,  appropria- 
tions by  Congress  for  specific  purposes  were  criminally  and 
hopelessly  merged  in  a  general  fund,  annuities  frequently 
suspended,  in  whole  or  in  part,  upon  the  slightest  pretext,  by 
the  Indian  bureau,  and  payments  deferred  for  months  after 
their  maturity,  thereby  causing  incalculable  suffering  to  these 
wards  of  a  great  nation  false  to  its  promises  and  to  its  trust. 

In  the  second  place.  The  summer  months,  immediately 
preceding  the  rmeute,  had  witnessed  the  assemblage,  at  the 
two  Indian  agencies  of  Redwood  and  Yellow  Medicine,  and  at 
three  distinct  periods,  of  nearly  7,000  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, of  the  Sioux  bands,  expressly  called  together  by  the  agent 
himself,  with  the  expectation  that  the  money,  articles  of  food,  and 
the  clothing  due  them,  toould  he  forthcoming,  as  he  was  advised  by 
the  commissioner  of  Indian  affairs  in  Washington.  Each  time 
the  poor,  famishing,  starving  wretches  were  doomed  to  bitter 
disappointment,  by  the  culpable  and  inexcusable  delay  of  the 
government  officials,  and  meantime,  the  supply  of  eatables  in 
agency  storehouses  had  been  exhausted,  and  the  piteous  appeal 


252  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

for  food,  SO  humiliating  to  the  Indian's  spirit,  and  the  cry  of 
women  and  children  for  clothing  and  bread,  were  made  in 
vain.  The  begging  and  the  buffalo  dances  brought  nothing. 
Apart  from  other  grievances,  this  state  of  things  was  enough 
to  drive  the  warriors  to  desperation,  and  when  the  Acton  mur- 
derers of  a  few  whites,  Sunday,  August  17,  1862,  returned  to 
the  main  camp  at  the  Redwood  and  Yellow  Medicine  agencies, 
they  frankly  confessed  their  crime  and  implored  their  kindred 
to  protect  them  from  arrest  and  punishment,  and  make  com- 
mon cause  with  them  against  the  whites.  The  night  following, 
the  warriors,  constituting  the  supreme  authority  in  the  bands, 
assembled,  to  the  number  of  one  hundred  and  fifty,  formed  the 
plan,  and  took  the  oath,  of  destruction,  so  faithfully  executed, 
August  18  and  19,  1862, — an  epoch  of  the  most  inhuman  and 
remorseless  butchery  ever  enacted  on  the  American  continent. 
Nothing  was  left  for  the  Indians  to  do  —  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren dead,  and  dying,  for  want  of  food  —  but  die  themselves, 
or  exact,  even  at  the  cost  of  their  own  lives,  a  fire  lit,  venge- 
ful, bloody,  and  brutal  atonement  for  all  the  wrongs  inflicted 
upon  them.  The  moment  was  opportune.  "Time,  at  last, 
makes  all  things  even."  The  United  States  were  involved  in 
a  terrible  strife.  Already  657,000  men  had  gone  to  the  seat 
of  war;  the  president  had,  in  addition,  called  out  300,000,  and 
again  300,000  more;  ^  the  Sioux  knew  all  this;  the  rumored 
capture  of  Washington  had  reached  the  Indian's  ear;  the  two 
agencies  had  both  been  depleted  of  men  to  help  the  "Great 
Father,"  and  Agent  Galbraith  had  himself  gone  with  the  Ren- 
ville Rangers,  not  keeping  his  promise  to  pay  the  Indians; 
Inkpa-doo-tah's  massacre  remained  unavenged;  and  now  was 
the  time  to  organize  the  "Tce-ye-to,"  the  "Soldier's  Lodge," 
and  repossess  the  state.  Such  the  situation.  The  Indian's 
complaint,  "forced  from  home  and  all  his  treasure,"  was  not 
"mere  poetry."  Outalissi's  tears  were  not  affectation.  The 
Queen  of  Pocasset's  wrath  was  not  without  ground.  Tah-wai- 
o-ta-doo-tah's  signal-gun  was  provoked.  Little  Crow  was  but 
the  successor  of  Osceola  and  Black  Hawk,  of  Tecumseh  and 
King  Philip.  2 


1  Seaver's  (Goodrich's  Hist.  United  States,  p.  311. 

2  Our  Inillan  syHtcni  Ih  a  system  of  organized  robbery  and  a  disgrace  to  tlie  nation.— 
Highr.p  Wlilpplc. 

There  is  not,  to-day,  an  old  citizen  of  MinncHOta  who  will  not  shrug  his  shoulders  as 
he  spMaks  of  the  dishonesty  which  accompanied  the  purchase  of  the  lands  of  the  Sioux. — 
ITeard's  Sioux  War,  p.  851. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  253 

The  man,  for  this  momentous  crisis  in  the  history  of  the 
state,  was  the  Hon.  Henry  Hastings  Sibley,  ex-governor  of 
the  state.  To  him  all  eyes  were  instinctively  turned.  His 
perfect  knowledge  of  the  Indian  tribes  and  character,  their 
habit  of  life,  and  mode  of  warfare,  his  familiarity  with  the 
Sioux  and  French  languages,  the  Indian  respect  for  his  per- 
son and  name,  all  pointed  him  out  as  the  man  of  all  men  to  be 
intrusted  with  the  main  command  of  the  military  forces  of 
the  state,  and  of  her  expedition  against  the  hostile  bands. 

The  news  of  the  outbreak,  Monday,  August  18,  1862,  at 
Eedwood  Agency,  where  Captain  Marsh  and  his  men  were 
ambushed  and  slaughtered,  reached  St,  Paul  on  the  afternoon 
of  Tuesday,  the  nineteenth,  by  special  messenger.  The  Sab- 
bath day  preceding  this  Monday  was  the  day  on  which,  in 
New  Ulm,  a  godless  town  of  infidel  Germans,  Jems  Christ,  the 
Saviour  of  men,  displayed  and  paraded  in  mock  efifigy,  and 
covered  with  vile  and  blasphemous  epithets,  was  publicly 
burned,  amid  scoffing  and  laughter  and  jeers.  ^  The  day  fol- 
lowing, Fort  Eidgley  was  attacked.  Godfearing  men,  how- 
ever, hastened  to  save  the  defenseless  women  and  children  of 
New  Ulm,  the  fort  being  defended  by  its  own  brave  garrison 
reinforced  by  the  Eenville  Rangers,  under  Major  Galbraith, 
and  a  company  of  men  from  Fort  Ripley,  under  command  of 
Captain  Sheehan,  in  all  two  hundred  and  thirty  men.  Both 
these  places  had  been  assailed  by  the  Indians  in  force,  the 
former  saved,  in  the  most  gallant  manner,  through  the  quick, 
spontaneous,  and  timely  relief  brought  by  Hon.  Charles  E. 
Flandrau  of  the  supreme  court,  who  sped  to  its  succor,  forc- 
ing a  march  of  thirty -two  miles  in  one  day;  the  latter  by  the 
heroic  bravery  of  its  defenders  as  above  described.  The  de- 
fenses of  New  Ulm,  August  19th  and  23d,  and  of  Fort  Ridgley, 
20th  and  21st,  were  among  the  most  brilliant  exploits  of  the 
Indian  War.  That  by  Colonel  Flandrau,  most  fortunate  in- 
deed, prevented,  at  that  critical  moment,  the  massacre  from 
penetrating  into  the  interior  of  the  state.  Commissioned  as 
colonel  commanding  the  southwestern  frontier  of  Minnesota, 
his  line  of  defensive  posts  from  New  Ulm  to  the  Iowa  border, 
and  dispersion  of  Indian  bands  that  hung  on  his  line,  were 
intended  to  drive  the  bands  in  Lower  Minnesota  back  on  the 
lines  and  front  of  ex-Governor  Sibley,  in  his  forward  move- 
ment against  Little  Crow. 

1  Dakota  War-Whoop,  hy  Mrs.  McConkey,  p.  81. 


254  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

Tuesday  afternoon,  August  19, 1862,  on  receipt  of  the  news 
that  the  massacre  had  broken  out  at  the  Redwood  Agency,  his 
Excellency,  Governor  Ramsey,  hastened  at  once  to  Mendota  to 
urge  upon  Governor  Sibley  the  general  command  of  the  forces 
in  the  field,  and  the  special  campaign  against  Little  Crow,  chief 
of  the  Sioux,  and  head  of  the  "Lightfoot  Band."  Governor 
Sibley,  consenting  upon  condition  of  non-interference  with  his 
plans,  carte-blanche  to  conduct  the  campaign  as  his  judgment 
dictated,  and  cordial  support  of  the  executive,  was  commissioned 
on  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  as  colonel  commanding  the 
state  forces,  and  clothed  with  the  power  of  a  general  oflBcer. 

United  States  of  America, 

State  of  Minnesota. 
Alexander  Ramsey,  Governor  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Military  Forces  of 

the  State,  to  Henry  H.  Sibley,  of  Dakota  County,  sends  Greeting: 

Reposing  especial  trust  and  confidence  in  your  valor,  patriotism,  and 
fidelity,  I  have  appointed  you,  the  said  Henry  H.  Sibley,  colonel,  and  com- 
mander of  the  Indian  expedition.  You  are  therefore  by  these  presents  ap- 
pointed and  commissioned  as  such  colonel,  etc. 

To  have  and  to  hold  the  said  office  of  colonel,  etc.,  together  with  all  the 
rights,  powers  and  emoluments  to  the  said  office  belonging,  or  by  law  in 
anywise  appertaining,  until  this  appointment  and  commission  shall  be  by 
me  or  other  lawful  authority  superseded  or  annulled,  or  expire  by  force  or 
reason  of  any  law  of  this  state. 

In  testimony  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  name  and  caused  the 
seal  of  the  adjutant  general  of  the  State  of  Minnesota  to  be  affixed  at  the 
capitol  in  the  city  of  St.  Paul,  this  nineteenth  day  of  August,  1862,  and  of 
the  state  the  fifth. 

By  the  Commander-in-Chief, 
[seal.]  Alex.  Ramsey. 

OscAE  Malmeos,  Adjutant  General. 

Early  the  next  day,  Wednesday,  with  four  companies  of 
the  Sixth  regiment,  from  Fort  Snelling,  he  hastened  to  St. 
Peter,  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  away,  and  entered  the 
place  Thursday  evening,  August  2l8t,  after  a  weary  march 
through  the  Big  Woods,  from  Belle  Plaine,  dispatching,  the 
following  day,  and  again  the  next  day,  Saturday,  reinforce- 
ments to  Colonel  Flandrau,  in  all  two  hundred  and  fifteen 
men.  These  troops  arrived,  Sunday  morning,  August  24th, 
too  late  to  share  in  the  gallant  defense  of  New  Ulm,  the  battle, 
against  nearly  six  hundred  Indians  having  been  won  the  day 
previous,  Saturday,  August  23d.  With  one  hundred  and  fif- 
ty-three wagons,  laden  with  women  and  children,  sick  and 
wounded,  besides  many  others  on  foot,  2,000  in  all.  Colonel 


HON.  HENKY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  255 

Flandrau  retreated  from  the  consumed  and  evacuated  town  to 
Mankato,  only  twenty-five  houses  left  standing  in  New  Ulm.  ^ 
Colonel  Sibley,  satisfied  that  Fort  Eidgley  could  safely  hold  out 
several  days,  resolved  not  to  risk  a  forward  movement  from  St. 
Peter  with  an  inadequate  force.  The  Sioux  were  in  the  field, 
in  large  numbers,  able  to  concentrate  upon  him  1,500  picked 
warriors,  well  armed.  His  own  force,  such  as  it  was,  and 
even  might  yet  be  for  days  to  come,  would  be  none  too  large, 
and  none  too  well  furnished,  to  cope  with  a  foe  so  formidable. 
All  that  stood  between  the  state  and  utter  destruction,  now 
that  Colonel  Flandrau  had  retreated  from  New  Ulm,  and  his 
extemporized  force  had  gone  to  their  homes,  was  the  column 
that  might  be  formed  under  Colonel  Sibley,  which,  if  sur- 
prised or  routed,  could  only  share  the  unhappy  fate  of  Cap- 
tain Marsh  and  his  men.  In  short,  his  expedition  against 
Little  Crow  was  now  the  one  hope  of  Minnesota.  In  other 
parts  of  the  state  brave  men  maintained  gallant  defenses 
against  the  marauding  Indian  bands,  but  here  was  the  one 
hope  on  which  all  eyes  were  fixed. 

And  what  determination  possessed  the  mind  of  Colonel 
Sibley,  his  own  words  abundantly  show.  Expecting  to  ad- 
vance the  following  day,  he  wrote  to  headquarters^  August 
25th,  "  Unless  you  can  now  and  effectually  crush  the  insurrec- 
tion, the  state  is  ruined,  and  some  of  its  fairest  portions  will 
revert  for  years  into  the  possession  of  those  miserable  wretches, 
who,  of  all  demons  in  human  shape,  are  among' the  most  cruel 
and  ferocious.  To  appreciate  this,  one  must  see,  as  I  have, 
the  mutilated  bodies  of  their  victims.  My  heart  is  steeled 
against  them,  and,  if  I  have  the  means,  and  can  catch  them,  I 
will  sweep  them  with  the  besom  of  death.  Do  not  think  there 
is  exaggeration  in  the  horrible  pictures  given  by  individuals. 
They  fall  short  of  the  dreadful  reality.  "^  And  yet  he  knew 
that  ^^  discretion  is  the  better  part  of  valor, ^^  and  that  Cjcsar's 
^'■festina  lente^''  meant  quick  victory.  Abused  by  the  clamor 
of  the  people,  and  the  inconsiderate  voice  of  the  press,  shout- 
ing "On  to  Fort  Eidgley!"  just  as  the  nation,  to  its  sorrow, 
had  heard  the  insane  cry,  "On  to  Eichmond!"  he  yet  disre- 
garded this  very  natural  but  very  irrational  impulse  and  im- 

1  For  a  fine  portrait  of  Colonel  Flandrau,  and  full  account  of  the  defense  of  New  Ulm, 
and  also  important  ihistorical  notices,  see  "  Magazine  of  Western  History,  Illustrated," 
April,  1888,  pp.  655-666  ;  Heard's  Sioux  War,  p.  79;  Indian  Massacre,  by  Bryant,  p.  426;  Neill's 
History  of  Minnesota,  p.  728 ;  Dakota  War-Whoop,  pp.  101-110. 

2  Executive  Documents,  1862,  p.  420. 


256  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

patience.    None  knew  or  appreciated  the  crisis  better  than  he. 
He  urged  reinforcements,  and  called  for.Springfield  rifles,  fixed 
ammunition,  and  mounted  men,   instead  of  old  Belgian  and 
Austrian  rifles  already  condemned,  and  without  cartridges  fit- 
ting the  bore;  and  instead  of  infantry  alone,  an  Indian  war  de- 
manding anefificient  cavalry  force,  trained  men,  and  arms  of  pre- 
cision, of  the  best  kind.     The  state  had  only  a  small  quantity 
of  cartridges  fitted  for  a  few  cases  of  the  old  Harper's  Ferry 
musket.     In  the  words  of  Colonel  Sibley,  "There  were  neither 
arms  nor  ammunition  such  as  were  needed;  no  transportation, 
no  commissary  supplies,  no  railways,  and  the  woods  leading  to 
the  frontier  were  just  as  Nature  had  left  them,  almost  impas- 
sable to  heavy  teams.     Little  Crow  could  concentrate  1,500 
warriors  well  skilled  in  the  use  of  arms,  and  subsidize,  at  any 
time,  the  powerful  kindred  bauds  on  the  upper  prairies,  be- 
sides the  Mississippi  Chippewas,  and  the  Winnebagoes,  near 
Mankato.     No  military  force  could  be  looked  for  outside  of 
the  state.     Her  sole  dependence  was  on  the  patriotism  and 
bravery  of  her  own   citizens." ^     "How  inadequate,"   says 
Adjutant  General  Oscar  Malmros,  in  his  report  to  Governor 
Eamsey,  "was  our  supply  of  arms  and  ammunition,  the  hun- 
dreds of  clamorous  demands  for  these  things  pouring  in  from 
every  section  of  the  state,  how  unprepared  we  were  to  meet 
such  demands,  and  how  destitute  of  all  other  means  to  carry 
on  such  a  war,  is  still  vivid  in  the  recollection  of  all."^     The 
difficulties  Colonel  Sibley  had  to  overcome  were  "  Legion." 
All  the  approved  firearms  had  gone  to  the  South.     Artillery 
ammunition  existed  nowhere,  save  in  the  frontier  forts  already 
beleagured.     Only  three  six-pounders  could  be  had.     Accou- 
terments  were  wanting.     Lead  teapots  and  lead  water-pipe 
had  to  be  moulded  into  bullets.     To  swedge  the  old  ammuni- 
tion, to  fit  weapons  for  which  it  was  never  intended,  proved 
vain,  and  the  best  to  be  done  was  to  convert  it  to  grape-shot 
and  canister,  whose  cases  were  made  in  the  tinshops  of  St. 
Peter,  unused  to  artillery  ware. 

This  was  not  all.  Medical  and  commissary  stores  were 
needed,  and  had  to  be  provided.  Refugees,  pouring  into 
the  town,  homeless  and  foodless,  had  to  be  cared  for.  With 
tlie  w(mnd(Ml,  sick,  and  maimed,  the  ingathering  troops  aug- 
jucutiiig  the  mass,  tlic  population  of  St.  Peter  had  swollen  to 

1  Slbley'H  Piiviil"'  MimiiMripl  Notes  on  tlii;  Sioux  War,  p.  T). 

2  lCx<;cutive  Docimii-iitH,  lKr,'2,|i. -41)8. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  257 

10,000.  The  flour  mill  at  Mankato  was  barued.  But  one  ex- 
isted at  St.  Peter.  The  starving  multitude  cried  for  bread. 
Colonel  Sibley  receives  an  order  to  take  charge  of  the  whole 
situation.  His  word  is  law.  A  huge  bakery  was  set  up,  a 
huge  butcher's  shop  was  extemporized,  a  soup  institution  was 
called  into  being.  Stoves  lined  the  streets,  tents  and  shanties 
the  vacant  lots.  Mothers  hugged  to  their  breasts  the  babes 
they  had  saved,  children  clung  to  their  parents'  limbs,  all 
waiting  for  something  to  keep  life  alive.  No  less  than  12,000 
meals  a  day  were  served,  8,000  rations  of  beef  alone,  to  the 
hungry  refugees,  while  the  eye  rested  on  wild  herds  of  cattle 
and  live  stock,  plunging  mad  from  the  prairie,  and  charging 
on  every  side,  unfed,  affrighted,  ferocious,  voracious.  ^ 

Had  the  strength  of  Colonel  Sibley  been  less  than  that 
of  a  Hercules,  or  his  shoulders  less  broad  than  those  of  an 
Atlas,  he  had  sunk  beneath  the  weight  of  care  and  responsi- 
bility put  upon  him.  Insanity  alone  could  shout  "  On  to 
Fort  Ridgley!"  under  such  circumstances,  his  troops  amount- 
ing, as  yet,  to  scarce  more  than  four  companies  of  the  Sixth 
regiment,  reinforcements  having  been  sent  to  Colonel  Flan- 
drau.  Moreover,  to  rush  wildly,  spurred  alone  by  a  sense  of 
the  justice  of  lex  talionis,  regardless  of  wiser  and  wider  fore- 
cast, would  have  caused  the  instant  slaughter  of  the  captive 
women  and  children  still  in  Little  Crow's  hands.  To  Colonel 
Sibley's  mind,  the  objects  of  the  expedition  were  (1)  the  defeat 
of  the  Indians  in  some  decisive  engagement,  (2)  the  release  of 
the  captives,  (3)  the  punishment  of  the  guilty  murderers  and 
criminals,  (4)  the  driving  of  the  Sioux  from  the  state.  He 
pursued  the  only  course  a  wise,  safe,  humane,  and  successful 
commander  could  have  taken. 

And  yet,  contending  with  such  difficulties.  Colonel  Sibley 
was  able  to  move  after  Little  Crow  on  Monday,  August  25, 
1862,  having  completed  his  work  of  organization,  and  shaped 
into  order  a  mass  of  heterogeneous  elements.  Between  the 
period  of  his  commission,  August  19th,  and  Monday,  August 
25th,  all  that  the  executive,  the  adjutant  general,  and  the  state 
could  do,  and  all  that  Colonel  Sibley's  appeals  could  do,  was 
done.  According  to  official  proclamation,  and  military  order, 
the  remaining  six  companies  of  the  Sixth  regiment,  Colonel 
Crooks,  two  hundred  additional  mounted  men  of  the  Cullen 
Guard,  Colonel  McPhail,  one  hundred  more  of  mounted  citi- 

1  See  Bryant's  Indian  Massacre,  etc.,  p.  431. 
17 


258  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

zens,  yet  both  unenlisted,  besides  several  volunteer  compa- 
nies, reported  by  Sunday  evening,  August  24//t,  the  day  of  the 
evacuation  of  New  Ulm,  to  Colonel  Sibley,  at  St.  Peter.  The 
rifles  had  been  sent,  and  the  whole  force  of  Colonel  Sibley 
now  amounted  to  1,400  men,  the  only  deficiency  being  the 
lack  of  sufficient  rations  and  ammunition. 

Not  a  moment's  time  was  lost.  ^  Though  needing  much, 
yet,  with  characteristic  energy  and  activity,  Colonel  Sibley  or- 
dered Colonel  McPhail,  with  one  hundred  and  eighty  men  of 
the  mounted  troops,  to  advance,  scouting  toward  Fort  Eidgley, 
Monday  evening,  August  25th;  an  advance  of  the  whole  col- 
umn, in  force,  being  ordered  the  next  day,  Tuesday,  August 
26th.  Thursday,  August  28th,  Colonel  Sibley,  with  his  troops, 
arrived  at  the  fort,  McPhaiPs  vanguard  having  reached  there 
the  day  previous.  The  joy  was  unbounded,  and  the  greetings 
were  cordial,  the  brave  garrison  receiving  lavish  compliments 
for  its  noble  defense  of  the  fort.  Intrenchments  were  dug, 
enfilading  cannon  were  placed,  strong  pickets  thrown  out,  a 
camp  formed,  the  impedimenta  arranged,  the  whole  serving  as 
the  base  of  future  operations  and  needed  supply  for  further 
advance.  On  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  the  reinforcements 
Colonel  Sibley  had  sent  to  Colonel  Flandrau  having  returned 
to  St.  Peter,  reported  at  Fort  Eidgley.  Of  the  Cullen  Guard, 
all  but  ninety  went  back  to  their  homes,  some  suspecting, 
others  not  dreaming,  that  a  battle  was  imminent.  This  de- 
ficiency was  supplied  by  the  arrival  of  forty-seven  men  under 
Captain  Sterrett,  and  also  by  a  portion  of  the  Seventh  regi- 
ment of  Minnesota  Volunteers,  under  Lieutenant  Colonel  Mar- 
shall, September  1,  1862. 

The  importance  of  the  situation  could  not  be  overesti- 
mated. After  the  retreat  of  Colonel  Flandrau  from  New  Ulm, 
the  towns  of  Mankato,  St.  Peter,  Henderson,  Glencoe,  and 
all  the  settlements  on  the  frontier,  were  still  at  the  mercy 
of  Little  Crow.  Any  moment  he  might  descend  on  Mankato, 
and,  if  successful,  speed  to  St.  Peter,  and  get  into  Sibley's 
rear,  repeating,  on  a  larger  scale,  the  scenes  at  Redwood,  New 
Ulm,  and  Fort  Eidgley,  and  the  atrocious  outrages  already 
committed.      Before  an  efficient  check  could  be  put  to  his 


1  There  were  unavoiilable  delays  over  wliicli  Ihc  colonel  coinmaiKiing  had  iiocoutrol. 
To  meet  the  foe  unpreiiared  would  l)e  to  rush  to  iinl)iddi'ii  death,  and  the  rifles  were  found 
to  1)0  UHoleHH  even  in  Ihi;  liaiidH  of  the  most  skillful  in  their  nse.  They  must  camp  at  St. 
Veler  until  the  defect  could  be  remedied,  or  others  brought  from  St.  Paul. —  I'akota  War- 
Whoop,  p.  93. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  259 

course,  infinite  damage  might  come  to  Minneapolis  and  St. 
Paul,  and  the  whole  state,  the  Mississippi  Chippewas  and 
Winnebagoes  being  ready  to  rise  and  assist  him.  Anticipat- 
ing his  wily  adversary,  who,  under  pretext  of  hasty  retreat, 
was  only  preparing  to  swoop  down,  like  an  "abomination 
that  makes  desolate,"  upon  the  towns  just  named,  and  mind- 
ful, also,  of  the  sad  duties  of  sepulture  yet  to  be  discharged 
to  the  mangled  forms  of  the  dead.  Colonel  Sibley,  yielding 
reluctantly  to  intense  pressure  and  persuaded  against  his  seri- 
ous doubt,  ordered  Major  Joseph  E.  Brown  to  advance  up  the 
valley,  with  a  detachment  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  to 
bury  the  dead,  relieve  any  survivors  of  the  massacre,  and 
"feel  after"  Little  Crow.  His  instructions  were  most  ex- 
plicit, viz. ,  not  to  separate  the  force  under  any  circumstances, 
nor  go  into  camp  near  a  mound  or  ravine,  but  only  on  the 
open  prairie,  with  pickets  thrown  out.  Should  attack  occur, 
they  could  defend  themselves  till  he  marched  to  their  relief. 
The  detachment  divided,  part  crossing  the  river,  part  re- 
maining this  side,  both  exploring  and  reconnoitering,  and 
reunited  on  the  Fort  Eidgley  side,  going,  however,  into  camp 
on  the  evening  of  September  1st,  at  Birch  Coolie,  opposite 
the  Eedwood  Agency,  having  found  and  buried  eighty-five 
mutilated  bodies.  No  Indians  were  seen,  and  none  suspected 
as  near.     The  location  of  the  camp  was  most  unfortunate. 

On  the  morning  of  September  2,  1862,  at  early  dawn,  the 
camp  at  Fort  Eidgley,  and  all  in  the  fort,  were  thrown  into 
a  state  of  high  excitement.  Owing  to  the  conformation  of 
the  valley,  and  its  acoustic  projDerties,  sound  was  readily 
transmitted  for  many  miles.  Volleys  of  musketry  were  dis- 
tinctly heard,  about  4:30  A.  M.,  by  placing  the  ear  to  the 
ground.  Colonel  Sibley,  fearing  that  Major  Brown's  detach- 
ment had  been  engaged  by  the  Indians,  instantly  hurried  for- 
ward a  second  detachment  of  two  hundred  and  forty  men  and 
two  six-pounders,  under  Colonel  McPhail,  to  their  relief.^ 

1  The  books  are  in  error,  here,  as  frequently  in  other  places.  The  Dakota  War-Whoop 
says  Colonel  Sibley  sent  "two  companies  and  a  six-pound  howitzer."  The  adjutant  gen- 
eral's report  says  "one  hundred  and  fifty-five  men  and  a  mountain  howitzer.'  Heard's 
History  of  the  Sioux  War  repeats  the  adjutant's  report,  as  does  Bryant,  also,  in  his  Indian 
Massacre.  The  best  evidence  is  Colonel  Sibley's  letters,  dated  on  the  day  of  the  transaction. 
Writing  to  his  wife,  September  2,  18G2,  he  says,  "I  have  just  dispatched  two  hundred  and 
forty  men,  with  two  six-pounders,  to  the  aid  of  my  troops,  and  the  rest  of  my  command  are 
ready  to  take  the  field  at  a  moment's  notice.  Do  not  be  disturbed  by  apprehension  of  the 
Indians.  Only  in  case  my  column  should  be  defeated  need  you  feel  any  alarm.  In  that  case, 
the  enemy  might  sweep  the  settlements  to  the  Mississippi.  Until  that  happens,  which  I  by 
no  means  intend  shall  be  done,  you  may  rest  securely,  etc.,  etc." — Letters  to  My  Wife  in 
1862,  p.  4. 


2(30  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

The  rest  of  the  troops  were  ordered  to  prepare  to  march  at 
a  moment's  notice.  At  2  p.  m.  the  same  day,  September  2d, 
the  report  of  one  of  McPhail's  guns  told  Major  Brown,  who 
had  been  severely  pressed  by  the  Indians,  that  help  was  at 
hand,  and  the  sonnd  inspired  the  beleaguered  and  stricken 
camp  with  courage  and  joy.  The  Indians,  getting  into  the 
timber  of  the  coolie  between  the  camp  and  the  approaching 
relief,  prepared,  by  various  maneuvers,  to  cut  it  off,  firing  a 
whole  broadside  into  its  face,  at  first,  from  the  rifles  of  over 
three  hundred  Sioux,  most  of  them  mounted.  McPhail  con- 
cluded to  halt  and  hold  his  position  till  morning,  sending  a 
messenger,  the  intrepid  Sheehan,  to  Fort  Eidgley,  to  inform 
Colonel  Sibley  that  his  detachment  was  in  danger  of  being  sur- 
rounded, and  that  Brown's  camp  was  silent.  McPhail's  signal 
gun  had  been  heard  at  the  fort,  and  the  commander  knew 
then  that  his  forces  were  heavily  engaged,  and  the  moment 
Sheehan  arrived  the  long  roll  was  beaten,  and  the  whole  force 
instantly  ordered  to  advance,  quick  time,  to  the  scene  of 
action.  It  was  sundown,  September  2,  1862.  The  '^midnight 
march  ^^  was  made.  At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  Septem- 
ber 3d,  Colonel  Sibley  reached  the  pickets  of  the  second  de- 
tachment,—  three  miles  in  front  of  the  coolie  beyond  which 
was  the  camp  of  the  first  detachment, —  dead  or  alive,  none 
could  tell.  Conducted  quietly  to  the  second  detachment,  all 
were  ordered  to  lie  down  and  rest,  the  whole  force  to  be  roused 
before  dawn,  without  sound  of  trumpet  or  drum. 

The  order  was  obeyed.  Before  dawn,  silent  as  the  stars, 
the  whole  force  stood  in  battle  array,  ready  to  move.  As  was 
expected,  the  Indians  appeared  in  force  and  commenced  firing 
on  Sibley's  troops.  The  fire  was  returned  with  vigor  and 
effect,  the  Indians  surprised  at  the  magnitude  of  the  force, 
and  retreating  into  the  timber  of  the  coolie.  "The  discharges 
of  the  artillery  soon  drove  them  out  of  the  woods  to  a  distance 
whicli  rendered  their  firearms  ineffective,  and,  refusing  to 
make  any  furtlier  stand,  they  were  allowed  to  retreat  for  lack 
of  an  adequate  mounted  force  to  pursue  them."  ^  The  fatal 
mistake  —  if  it  could  ])e  called  only  a  mistake  —  of  the  return 
of  the  unenlisted  mounted  men,  but  a  day  or  two  previous,  to 
their  homes,  was  now  apparent.  Little  Crow  effected  his 
escaj)e,  after  severe  loss  in  killed  and  wounded.  The  scene  at 
Major  Biown's  canq)  was  distressing  indeed.     No  less  than 

1  Executive  DocuinciitM,  Ailjiitant  General's  Keport  of  the  Battle  of  Birch  Coolie,  Sep- 
tember 8, 1862. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  261 

ninety  horses  had  been  killed,  thirteen  of  his  detachment  slain, 
three  mortally  wounded,  and  forty-four  more  or  less  injured, 
among  them  three  of  Colonel  Sibley's  staff  officers.  The  tents 
of  the  detachment  had  been  riddled  with  bullets,  some  perfo- 
rated in  a  hundred  places.  The  death  of  every  man  had  been 
certain  had  the  troops  not  remained  prostrate  on  the  earth,  so 
intense  was  the  rain  of  destruction.  With  their  bayonets,  tin 
cups,  knives,  and  camp  utensils,  they  formed  to  themselves 
little  earthworks,  while  prostrate,  to  shield  them  against  the 
merciless  volleys  of  the  enemy.  The  swollen  bodies  of  the 
horses  served  also  a  similar  purpose.  For  thirty-one  hours 
the  men  had  been  without  food  or  water,  and  yet  contrived  to 
repel  the  foe.  When  relieved,  they  had  but  five  rounds  of 
ammunition  for  each  man.  The  wonder  is  that  every  man 
was  not  massacred.  Braver  troops  never  fought  at  Ther- 
mopylae, or  the  passes  of  Cerro  Gordo  and  Angostura.  Better 
soldiers  never  fought  at  Malvern  Hill  or  Gettysburg.  The 
one  great  defect,  throughout  the  whole  campaign,  was  the 
lack  of  a  cavalry  force  sufficient  to  make  the  victory  complete. 
The  casualties  to  Colonel  Sibley's  force  were  slight,  his  man- 
agement of  the  action  being  such  as  to  secure  the  greatest  ad- 
vantage at  the  least  amount  of  loss  to  his  own  men. 

The  battle  of  Birch  Coolie,  on  the  second  and  third  of  Sep- 
tember, 1862,  was  the  severest  and  bloodiest  of  all  the  actions 
thus  far,  in  the  Indian  campaign,  and  justified  every  precau- 
tion taken  by  the  commander  of  the  expedition.  In  the  words 
of  the  adjutant  general's  report  to  Governor Eamsey,  "It  saved 
the  towns  of  Mankato  and  St.  Peter  from  the  destruction  con- 
templated by  the  savages.  They  had  left  Yellow  Medicine, 
and  vicinity,  with  the  avowed  intention  of  attacking  these 
towns  on  the  Minnesota,  but,  happily  for  the  inhabitants  of 
them,  met  with  signal  defeat  at  Birch  Coolie."  ^  After  bury- 
ing the  dead,  and  placing  the  wounded  in  the  hard  wagons, 
with  the  long  grass  of  the  prairie  as  their  only  mattress.  Colo- 
nel Sibley  returned  to  Fort  Ridgley  to  prepare  for  a  final 
advance  upon  Little  Crow's  camp.  Some  fractional  companies 
of  the  Third  regiment,  Minnesota  A^olunteers,  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  in  number,  paroled  as  prisoners  at  Murfrees- 
boro,  Tennessee,  having  returned  to  the  state,  now  joined  the 
expeditionary  force  against  the  Sioux,  under  the  command  of 
Major  Abraham  E.  Welch. 

1  Executive  Documents,  1862,  p.  453. 


262  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

Mindful  of  the  large  number  of  captives  in  Little  Crow's 
hands,  and  anxious  by  whatever  "craft"  he  possessed  to  know 
their  condition,  and  by  any  means  secure  their  release,  Colo- 
nel Sibley,  before  retiring  from  Birch  Coolie,  aware  that  the 
Indians  would  revisit  the  field,  left  a  note  for  Little  Crow, 
attached  to  a  "split  stake"  fixed  in  upright  position  on  the 
battle  ground.     It  was  as  follows: 

If  Little  Croiv  has  any  proposition  to  make,  let  him  send  a  half-breed  to  me 
and  he  shall  be  protected  in  and  out  of  camp. 

H.  H.  Sibley, 
Colonel  Commanding  Military  Expedition. 

This  was  the  opening  of  a  correspondence  between  Little 
Crow  and  Colonel  Sibley,  during  which,  in  various  ways,  it 
was  ascertained,  precisely  as  Colonel  Sibley,  so  familiar  with 
the  Indian  character,  believed,  that,  had  the  attack  been  made 
by  him  upon  the  Indians  while  in  their  own  camp,  or  before 
they  had  deserted  it,  it  was  their  determination  to  tomahawk 
every  captive  in  their  possession.  ^  Their  only  hope  of  any 
mercy  lay  in  their  detention  of  so  many  helpless  women  and 
children.  Colonel  Sibley's  one,  first,  and  paramount,  aim  was 
to  secure  the  release  of  these  suffering  people,  and  not  pre- 
ciijitate  the  sacrifice  of  their  lives.  Any  impression  given  to 
Little  Crow  that  no  mercy  would  be  shown  would  be  the  sig- 
nal for  another  indiscriminate  massacre.  Any  art  by  which 
he  could  avert  a  calamity  so  dire,  he  felt  bound,  in  humanity, 
and  before  God,  to  practice.  And  yet,  to  do  this  in  such  way 
as  to  show  firmness  on  the  one  hand,  without  appearance  of 
threat  on  the  other,  was  the  problem  to  be  solved.  Hence  the 
phraseology  of  the  cleft  stake  on  the  battle-field,  the  retreat  to 
Fort  Ridgley,  and  the  invitation  to  Little  Crow  to  communi- 
cate "i/"  he  had  any  communication  to  make.  After  the  cap- 
tives were  released,  it  would  be  time  to  tell  Little  Crow  what 
his  fate  would  be!  And  if  not  released,  as  yet,  then,  by  some 
means,  the  Indians  must  be  fought  outside  of,  and  away  from, 
their  immediate  camp,  as  far  as  possible. 

Impatient  and  unrefiecting  men  could  not  understand  this. 
The  only  sound  welcome  to  their  ears  was  the  cry  "  On  to  Little 
Crowds  Camp!^^  It  was  in  such  a  crisis  as  this,  charged  with  re- 
sponsibilities severe  enougli  to  crush  the  stoutest  heart,  the 
true  greatness  of  Colonel  Sibley's  character  appeared.  Ac- 
cused of  remissness,  negligence,  cowardice,  and  even  of  "desire 

1  Heard'M  Sioux  War,  p.  180;  Dakota  Wai-Whoo)),  p.  211. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  263 

to  be  friendly"  with  red-handed  miscreants,  howled  at  on  all 
sides,  the  suggestion  of  his  removal  having  been  made,  he  still 
insisted  that  none  should  reply  to  the  foul  slanders  in  the  news- 
papers. Unmoved  by  calumny,  and  undaunted  by  threats, 
he  consulted  his  own  superior  judgment,  and  walked  towering 
over  those  whose  tongues  were  afterward  silenced,  and  cheeks 
made  red,  to  their  shame,  when  they  saw  the  success  of  his 
plans,  and  heard  the  applause  from  his  state  and  the  nation. 

The  correspondence  between  Colonel  Sibley  and  Little 
Crow,  and  two  friendly  Indians  in  Little  Crow's  camj),  was 
the  following,  and  is  taken  from  Colonel  Sibley's  private  jour- 
nal. In  reply  to  the  note  attached  to  the  split  stake.  Little 
Crow  returned  the  following  answer,  assigning  the  reason  for 
the  massacre,  his  participation  and  that  of  the  Winnebagoes 
in  the  same,  his  desire  that  Governor  Eamsey  should  know 
the  facts,  his  boast  of  the  possession  of  many  prisoners,  and 
requesting  an  immediate  answer  to  his  communication ; 

Yellow  Medicine,  September  7,  1862. 
Deae  Sie:  For  what  reason  we  have  commenced  this  war,  I  will  tell 
you.  It  is  on  account  of  Major  Galbraith,  we  made  a  treaty  with  the  Gov- 
ernment a  beg  for  what  little  we  do  get  and  then  can't  get  it  till  our 
children  are  dieing  with  hunger.  It  was  with  the  traders  that  commence. 
Mr.  A.  J.  ]Myrick  told  the  Indians  they  would  eat  grass  or  their  own  dung, 
then  Mr.  Forbes  told  the  lower  Sioux  that  were  not  men  then  Eobert  be 
was  making  with  his  friends  how  to  defraud  us  of  our  money,  if  the  young 
braves  have  push  the  white  man,  I  have  done  this  myself;  So  I  want  you 
to  let  the  Governor  Ramsey  know  this.  I  have  a  great  many  prisoners 
women  and  children  it  aint  all  our  fault  the  Winnebagoes  was  in  the  engage- 
ment, two  of  them  was  killed.     I  want  you  to  give  me  answer  by  bearer 

all  at  present.     Y'ours  truly. 

his 

Little  x  Ceow. 

mark. 

Next  day,  September  8th,  General  Sibley,  under  flag  of 
truce,  sent  the  following  reply,  ambiguous  in  one  of  its  ex- 
pressions: 

Little  Ceow  :  You  have  murdered  many  of  our  people  without  any 
sufficient  cause.  Return  me  the  j)risoners,  under  a  flag  of  truce,  and  I  will  talk 
to  you  like  a  man.     I  have  sent  your  message  to  Governor  Eamsey. 

H.  H.  Sibley, 
Colonel  Commanding  Military  Expedition. 

No  response  to  this  demand  for  the  return  of  the  prisoners 
was  made.  On  September  12th,  the  crafty  warrior  reopened 
communication,  under  flag  of  truce,  referring  to  the  prisoners 


264  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OE 

as  doing  very  well,  and  demanded  not  only  a  message  from 
Governor  Eamsey  himself,  but,  while  still  retaining  the  pris- 
oners, appealed  to  the  old  personal  friendship  of  General  Sib- 
ley, on  which,  as  a  ground,  he  hoped  that  some  way  might  be 
made  to  secure  peace  for  his  people,  and  exemption  from 

punishment. 

Red  Ieon  Village,  or  Way-au-akan. 
To  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley: 

we  have  in  ma-wa-kau-ton  baud  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  presoners 

—  not  included  the  Sisitons  and  warpeton  presoners,  then  we  are  waiting 
for  the  Sisiton  what  we  are  going  to  do  with  the  prisoners  they  are  coming 
down — they  are  at  Lake  quiparle  now,  the  words  that  I  want  to  the  gov- 
ernel  il  want  to  here  from  him  also,  and  I  want  to  know  from  you  as  a 
friend  what  way  that  il  can  make  peace  for  my  people  —  in  regard  to  pres- 
oners they  fair  with  our  children  or  ourself  just  as  well  as  us. 

Your  truly  friend, 

Little  Crow. 
At  the  same  time,  the  bearer  of  this  communication  bore 
also  another  and  private  communication  from  two  of  General 
Sibley's  old  friends  in  Little  Crow's  hands,  and  also  whispered 
the  secret  that,  ever  since  the  defeat  at  Birch  Coolie,  dissatis- 
faction existed  in  Little  Crow's  camp.     The  letter  was  the 

following: 

Way-awa-kan,  Sept.  10,  '62. 
Col.  H.  H.  Sibley,  Fort  Bidgley: 

Dear  Sir:  You  know  that  Little  Crow  has  been  opposed  to  me  in 
everything  that  our  people  have  had  to  do  with  the  whites.  He  has  been 
opposed  to  everything  in  the  form  of  civilization  and  Christianity.  I  have 
always  been  in  favor  of,  and  of  late  years  have  done  everything  of  the  kind 
that  has  been  offered  to  us  by  the  Government  and  other  good  white  people 

—  he  has  now  got  himself  into  trouble  that  we  know  he  can  never  get  him- 
self out  of,  and  he  is  trying  to  involve  those  in  the  murder  of  the  poor  whites 
that  have  been  settled  in  the  border;  but  I  have  been  kept  back  with  threats 
that  I  should  be  killed  if  I  did  anything  to  help  the  whites.  But  if  you 
will  now  appoint  some  place  for  me  to  meet  you,  myself  and  the  few  friends 
that  I  have  will  get  all  the  prisoners  that  we  can,  and  with  our  families  go 
to  whatever  i)lace  you  will  appoint  for  us  to  meet. 

I  would  say  further,  that  the  mouth  of  the  Red  Wood,  Candiohi  on 
the  north  side  of  the  Minnesota,  or  the  head  of  the  Cottonwood  river  —  one 
of  these  three  places,  I  think,  would  be  a  good  place  to  meet. 

Return  the  messenger  as  quick  as  possible,  we  have  not  much  time  to 
spare.  Your  true  friend, 

Wabashaw. 
Taopee. 

General  Sibley,  with  tlie  art  of  a  genuine  strategist  and 
diplomat,  replied,  the  same  day,  September  12,  1862,  to  both 
these  communications: 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  265 

Headquarters  Military  Expedition, 

September  12,  1862. 
To  Wdbashaw  and  Taopee  : 

I  have  received  your  private  message.  I  have  come  up  here  with  a 
large  force  to  punish  the  murderers  of  my  people.  It  was  not  my  purpose 
to  injure  any  innocent  person.  If  you  and  others  who  have  not  beeri  concerned 
in  the  murders  and  expeditions,  will  gather  yourselves,  with  all  the  prisoners,  on 
the  prairie  in  full  sight  of  my  troops,  and  when  the  white  fag  is  displayed,  by  you, 
a  white  flag  will  be  hoisted  in  my  camp,  and  then  you  can  come  forward  and  place 
yourselves  under  my  protection.  My  troops  will  be  all  mounted  in  two  days' 
time,  and  in  three  days  from  this  day  I  expect  to  march.  There  must  be 
no  attempt  to  approach  my  column  or  my  camp,  except  in  open  day,  and 
with  a  flag  of  truce  conspicuously  displayed.  I  shall  be  glad  to  receive  all 
true  friends  of  the  whites  with  as  many  prisoners  as  they  can  bring,  and  I 
am  powerful  enough  to  crush  all  who  attempt  to  oppose  my  march,  and  to 
punish  those  who  have  washed  their  hands  in  innocent  blood. 

I  sign  myself  the  friend  of  all  who  were  friends  of  your  great  American 
Father. 

H.  H.  Sibley, 
Colonel  Commanding  3IiUtary  Expedition. 

Headquarters  Military  Expedition, 

September  12,  1862. 
To  Little  Crow,  Siotix  Chief: 

I  have  received  your  letter  to-day.  You  have  not  done  as  I  wished  in 
giving  up  the  prisoners  taken  by  your  people.  It  would  be  better  for  you 
to  do  so.  I  told  you  I  had  sent  your  former  letter  to  Governor  Ramsey,  but 
I  have  not  yet  had  time  to  receive  a  reply.  You  have  allowed  your  young 
men  to  commit,  some  murders  since  you  wrote  your  first  letter.  This  is  not 
the  way  to  make  peace. 

H.  H.  Sibley, 
Colonel  Commanding  3Iilitary  Expedition. 

So  ended  the  corresj)ondence.  It  speaks  for  itself,  reveal- 
ing a  situation  than  which  none  could  be  more  critical  or  deli- 
cate. With  the  increase  of  dissatisfaction  in  Little  Crow's 
camp,  the  outraged  war  party,  stung  by  defeat,  might  rise 
any  moment  and  extinguish  in  death  the  unhappy  captives 
still  in  their  power.  By  an  indiscretion  on  the  part  of  Colonel 
Sibley  the  same  result  might  ensue.  Slandering  tongues,  far 
away  from  the  scene,  and  minds  incompetent  to  understand, 
or  intent  to  destroy,  for  partisan  ends,  the  name  of  the  man 
on  whom,  most  of  all,  the  state  relied  in  this  crisis,  might 
busy  themselves  as  they  listed.  A  true  knowledge  of  the 
situation  will  ever  vindicate  the  wisdom  of  his  correspondence 
with  Little  Crow,  and  repel  the  insane  charge  of  timid  in- 
action and  guilty  delay.  If  anything  more  were  needed  to 
clinch  the  facts  of  the  times,  the  private  letters  of  Colonel 
Sibley  to  his  wife  will  be  deemed  as  all-sufficient. 


266  ANCESTEY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

What  we  have  here  is  an  itinerary,  and  a  journal  as  well, 
written  in  confidence,  under  the  sanctity  of  the  most  endear- 
ing relationship  on  earth,  and  where,  if  anywhere,  we  must 
expect  to  find  the  truth.  It  unveils  the  whole  situation  others 
could  not  see,  and  gives  the  reasons  others  could  not  under- 
stand. It  explains  fully  the  so-called  delay  period  of  three 
weeks,  i.  e.  from  September  3d,  the  battle  of  Birch  Coolie,  to 
September  23d,  the  battle  of  Wood  Lake. 

"  FOET  RiDGLEY,  September  5,  1862. — I  am  well  this  morning  but  sorely 
fatigued  after  the  forced  march  to  the  rescue  of  the  companies  hemmed  in 
by  the  savages  at  Birch  Coolie,  particulars  of  which  I  wrote  you  yesterday. 
I  hove  placed  my  commission  at  the  disposal  of  Governor  Ramsey  in  vieio  of  the 
complaints  made  about  delay,  etc.,  etc.,  and  so,  perhaps  he  may  relieve  me, 
and  permit  me  to  go  home,  which  I  am  cxuite  anxious  to  do.  The  responsi- 
bilities of  my  position  are  so  great  that  I  am  deprived  of  necessary  rest.  I 
can  hardly  sleep  at  all.  The  Indians  are  in  force.  They  retreated  in  haste 
when  I  reached  the  beleaguered  camp  at  the  coolie,  but  did  not  go  far,  as  they 
knew  I  had  no  cavalry  and  could  not  overtake  them  with  my  infantry.  We 
shall  have  a  battle  shortly,  when  I  receive  the  cartridges  and  rations  indis- 
pensable to  an  advance  movement.  It  is  hard,  indeed,  while  we  are  fight- 
ing, and  doing  our  best,  to  have  a  '  set  of  ninnies  and  poltroons '  abusing 
us  at  home." 

"September  7th. — You  will  have  seen  the  account  of  the  attack  on  my 
detachment  at  Birch  Coolie.  *  *  *  i  ^as  the  first  man  to  enter  the 
doomed  camp,  after  driving  the  savages,  and  as  the  survivors  emerged  from 
the  holes  they  had  dug  in  the  ground,  in  and  around  their  tent,  a  more 
delighted  set  of  mortals  I  never  saw.  There  lay  ninety -one  horses,  shot 
dead,  others  hobbling  about  wounded.  The  scene  was  sickening.  *  *  * 
I  hope  the  governor  will  appoint  another  officer  to  succeed  me  in  command 
of  the  expedition,  for  I  am  nearly  worn-out  with  fatigue,  night-watching, 
and  the  labor  necessary  to  get  the  raw  material  I  have  to  work  with  into  a 
condition  fit  for  a  campaign.  I  get  curses  because  I  do  not  accomplish  impossi- 
bilities. I  cannot  safely  go  ahead  without  a  sufficient  supply  of  ammunition 
and  rations,  in  both  of  which  essentials  we  are  sadly  deficient.  It  would  not  do 
for  me,  under  present  circumstances,  to  resign  my  commission,  perempto- 
rily, for  the  safety  of  the  state  would  be  jeopardized  if  one,  less  experienced 
in  Indian  wiles  and  mode  of  warfare  than  I  am,  should  be  assigned  to  the 
command  of  the  only  force  which  stands  between  the  central  portion  of  the 
state  and  desolation." 

"Septemher  8tii. — I  received  a  letter  from  Little  Crow  yesterday,  by 
the  bearers  of  a  fiag  of  truce.  He  writes  (his  amanuensis  is  an  educated 
half-broed),  that  the  reason  the  war  commenced  was  because  he  could  not  get 
the  promxions  and  other  supplies  due  the  Indians,  that  the  women  and  children 
viere  starving  and  he  could  get  no  satisfaction  from  Major  Galhraith,  the  United 
States  Agent,  tluU  he  had  viavy  white  women  and  children  prisoners,  etc.,  etc.  I 
have  sent  bark  tlic  men  to-day,  with  a  written  reply  telling  Little  Crow  to 
dilivrr  the  ra]ttiv(s  to  me,  and  I  would  then  talk  with  him  like  a  man.     What  he 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  267 

will  do  remains  to  he  seen.  The  half-l)reecls,  whom  I  know,  say  that  the 
mixed-bloods  are  not  permitted  to  leave  the  camp  and  are  virtually  prison- 
ers, as  most  of  them  are  believed  to  sympathize  with  the  whitQg.  They 
assure  me  that  the  Indians  are  determined  to  give  us  battle,  at  or  near  the 
Yellow  Medicine,  and  are  sanguine  of  success.  I  do  sincerely  hope  they  will 
not  change  their  programme.''^ 

"Skptemuer  10th. — We  are  waiting  the  result  of  my  message  to  Little 
Crow,  demanding  the  delivery  of  the  captives.  I  expect  an  answer  to- 
day. This  question  embarrasses  me  very  much,  for  should  I  make  an  ad- 
vance movement,  two  or  three  hundred  white  ivonien  and  children  might  be  mur- 
dered in  cold  hlood.  I  must  use  xohat  craft  I  possess  to  get  these  poor  creatures  out 
of  the  hands  of  the  ^ red  devils,'  and  then  pursue  the  latter  xvithfire  and  sword. 
I  am  in  want  of  cartridges,  hard  bread,  and  clothing  for  the  soldiers,  which 
I  hope  will  be  forthcoming  very  soon,  etc.,  etc." 

"September  11th. — The  ammunition  train  is  exi^ected  to-day,  and  as 
soon  as  the  clothing  is  received,  we  will  go  ahead.  I  see  that  Governor 
Ramsey  has  requested  the  secretary  of  war  to  constitute  a  new  military  dis- 
trict, or  department,  for  the  Northwest,  and  place  in  command  a  man 
skilled  in  Indian  warfare.  I  sincerely  hope  he  will  do  so,  as  it  would  re- 
lieve me,  and  allow  me  to  go  home.  Since  the  affair  of  Birch  Coolie,  in 
which  our  men  were  attacked  and  lost  so  many,  the  howlers  in  St.  Paul  seem 
to  he  checked  in  their  onslaughts,  as  they  find  that  the  job  we  have  undertaken 
is  far  from  being  an  insignificant  one,  and  that  the  policy  I  have  pursued  is 
the  only  one  to  save  the  settlements. ' ' 

"September  13th. — I  have  nearly  perfected  my  arrangements,  and 
intend  to  move  on.  I  have  another  communication  from  Little  Crow.  The 
bearers  of  the  flag  of  truce  say  there  is  a  party  in  the  camp  opposed  to  the 
war.  Little  Crow  evidently  begins  to  quake.  I  expect  to  reach  him  and  fight 
him  within  a  week.  I  learn  that  General  Pope  has  been  designated  to  com- 
mand the  new  department  of  the  Northwest,  in  which  case  I  shall  soon  ask 
to  be  relieved  from  my  command." 

"September  14th. — I  had  issued  orders  to  march  to-morrow  morning, 
but  a  violent  rain-storm,  which  still  continues,  will  necessarily  retard  our 
move  forward."  ♦ 

"September  16th. — It  does  seem  as  if  the  fates  were  determined  to  opposemy 
advance,  as  the  rain-storm  has  continued  so  long  that  it  has  saturated  everything. 
I  fear  it  has  raised  the  streams  and  made  the  prairie  roads  worse  than  ever. 
Advices  corroborate  the  previous  reports  that  the  Indians  are  in  force  on  this 
side  of  Lac  qui  Parle. ' ' 

"September  17th. — It  has  cleared  oft"  to-day,  and  to-morrow  we  shall 
cross  to  the  south  side  of  the  river  and  go  in  search  of  '  my  friend  Little 
Crow'  (!)  with  whom  I  have  kept  up  a  correspondence,  and  now  '/tare  a 
Crow  to  pick! '  I  hope  General  Pope  will  take  it  into  his  head  to  come  up 
here  and  relieve  me  from  this  laborious  leadership.  At  any  rate,  I  shall 
give  up  my  commission  when  the  campaign  is  fought  to  a  close,  for,  by  that 
time,  I  shall  have  done  my  duty  as  a  good  citizen,  and  I  long  to  get  home 
to  my  dear  wife  and  children.  I  am  so  burdened  with  responsibilty  that  I 
sleep  but  little,  and  what  little  I  have  enjoyed  has  been  ivithout  tindressing 


268  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

ever  since  I  left  3Iendota,  as  I  have  to  make  frequent  visits  to  the  sentinels 
around  our  large  camp,  to  keep  them  on  the  alert  against  an  attack  in  the 
darkness.  •  So  I  feel  dirty  and  uncomfortable.  I  shall  have  a  busy  time  to- 
morrow, etc.,  etc." 

If  all  censure  is  not  disarmed  in  presence  of  such  a  revela- 
tion, or  if  the  disclosure  is  regarded  as  a  colored  representa- 
tion of  the  facts,  the  official  dispatches  covering  the  same 
period  ought  to  satisfy  every  complaint,  and  should  have 
hushed  every  murmur.  ^  Advancing  from  Fort  Eidgley  the 
second  time,  long  before  sufficiently  provided  for,  Colonel  Sib- 
ley, having  crossed  the  Minnesota,  dispatched  a  message  to 
Adjutant  General  Malmros,  September  13,  1862,  stating  that 
he  has  "but  twenty-five  mounted  men,''''  and  begging  for  "at 
least  two  hundred  cavalry."  His  whole  force  is  "1,500  men, 
and  although  the  cartridges  have  arrived,  with  ninety  men  of 
the  Ninth  regiment,  yet  the  clothing  train  and  the  provision 
train  are  still  behind.^ ^  The  same  day  he  sends  a  messenger  to 
the  half-breeds  and  Sioux  Indians  in  Little  Crow's  camp  "w^o 
have  not  been  guilty  of  the  murders  and  outrages  of  the  massacre,  to 
withdraw  from  those  guilty  people,  and  send  a  flag  of  truce  when  the 
troops  are  in  sight.'''' "^  September  15th,  he  writes  to  Colonel 
Flandrau,  guarding  the  southwestern  frontier,  "I  am  sadly 
crippled  for  want  of  ammunition  and  rations  and  clothing,  but 
can  wait  no  longer.  I  have  no  mounted  force  except  ticenty-five 
men,  and  the  Indians  are  concentrating  at,  or  near,  Lac  qui 
Parle.  The  lack  of  mounted  men  will  tell  badly  on  the  results  of 
the  expedition.  I  send  you  what  I  can  spare  of  my  ammunition.^ ^^ 
September  16th,  Major  General  Pope,  now  in  command  of  the 
new  "  Military  Department  of  the  Northwest,"  requests  the 
governors  of  Iowa  and  Wisconsin  to  forward  at  once  "three 
or  four  regiments"  to  St.  Paul,  and  orders  "the  j^urchase  of 
2,500  horses  to  push  out  against  the  Sioux." ^  This  shows 
General  Pope's  view  of  the  situation.  September  17th,  he 
congratulates  Colonel  Sibley  on  his  advance  amid  discourage- 
ments so  great,  promising,  faithfully,  "<o  send  four  regiments 
and  1,000  men  as  rapidly  as  p>ossihle,^''  and,  besides,   "to  place 

1  II  was  only  natural  that  sonic  of  the  siiflferinK  captives,  six  weeks  in  the  tepees  of  Lit- 
tle Crow's  camp,  should  complain  that  they  were  not  sooner  released.  Agony  makes  months 
out  of  moments  and  years  out  of  days.  But  the  reproaches  against  Colonel  Sibley  found  in 
Mrs.  Sarah  Wakefield's  "Six  Weeks  in  Little  Crow's  Camp,"pp.  48-5:?,  are  wholly  unjustified. 
I>;t  the  unmerited  and  extreme  Huderings  of  the  captives  be  suflBciont  apology  for  the  ground- 
less accusationM  of  Indill'erence  and  unnecessary  delay.  The  public  press,  however,  and  the 
party  politicians,  envious  of  Colonel  fSililcy's  possible  success,  had  no  such  apology. 

2  Rebellion  Uecord,  Vol.  XIII,  pp.  orsi,  032. 

3  Ibid..  r,.3.3. 

4  Ibid.,  pp.  019,  f,-,0,  fi.'52. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  269 

500  cavalry  at  Abercrombie,  500  at  Otter  Tail,  1,000  at  Ridgley, 
and  500  at  Crystal  Lake  between  the  Winnebagoes  and  the 
Sioux,"  and  also  to  send  Colonel  Sibley  ^^  forage  for  1,000 /ior«es 
and  rations  for  2,500  me/t."  ^ 

Great  promises  were  these,  and  efficient  also,  had  they  only 
been  performable!  Colonel  Sibley  replies,  September  19th, 
that  he  needs  ' '  cavalry  at  once,  hard  bread,  pork,  and  blankets 
for  the  troops,^'  adding  ^^ I  have  no  time  to  write  more,  as  I  must 
immediately  go  in  search  of  Little  Crow.''^  He  has  ''■only  ten  days' 
rations  and  no  supply  nearer  than  St.  Peter,  fifty  miles  distant.  The 
Seventh  regiment  are  ivithout  overcoats.  Yet  I  shall  do  all  in  my 
power  to  bring  the  expedition  to  a  successful  issue. ^^  General 
Pope  now  writes  to  Secretary  Stanton,  war  secretary  at  Wash- 
ington, ^^  There  are  neither  troops  nor  arms  sujfficierit  in  the  state, 
and  the  governor  calls  on  me  for  both.  I  am  doing  all  I  can  and 
have  but  little  to  do  it  with,"  and  Stanton  replies,  "I  would  be 
glad  to  carry  out  your  plans,  but  the  critical  state  of  affairs  in 
Kentucky  requires  every  man  to  be  on  the  ground  there,  who 
is  not  absolutely  needed  elsewhere.  Do  not  detain  in  your  de- 
partment more  troops  than  absolutely  necessary.  Send  the  rest  for- 
ward immediately  to  General  WrighV^^  Such  were  the  pressure 
and  distress  of  the  times,  owing  to  the  Civil  War, — the  "stay- 
at-homes"  howling  at  Sibley  for  "not  advancing  faster!" 
September  22d,  Colonel  Sibley  writes  that  the  action  with  Lit- 
tle Crow  is  imminent.  September  23d,  the  day  of  the  battle  of 
Wood  Lake,  General  Pope  writes  to  Major  General  Halleck,  at 
Washington,  ^'You  do  not  seem  to  be  aware  of  the  extent  of  the 
Indian  outbreaks.  The  Sioux,  2,600  warriors,  are  assembled  at 
the  Upper  Agency  to  give  battle  to  Colonel  Sibley,  who  is  ad- 
vancing with  1,600  men  and  five  pieces  of  artillery.  Three  hun- 
dred men,  women,  and  children  are  now  in  captivity.  Cannot 
the  paroled  officers  and  men  of  the  rifle  regiment  (Dragoons) 
now  in  Michigan  be  sent  herel"^  Such  the  crisis  and  impor- 
tunity, in  that  solemn  moment  of  the  history  of  the  nation 
strained  to  its  utmost,  everywhere.  Such  that  most  critical 
epoch  in  the  life  of  Minnesota,  the  Indians  rising  with  serpen- 
tine cunning  all  around  her,  Colonel  Sibley  struggling  like 
Laocoon  in  the  anaconda's  folds,  to  liberate  the  state,  the  cap- 
tives, and  himself,  from  the  red  man's  deadly  coil!  voices  still 
shouting  ^^  Onto  Richmond!^''   "  On  to  Little  Crow!^' 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  649, 650,  652. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  663. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  663. 


270  ANCESTKY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

Colonel  Sibley's  policy  was  a  masterly  one,  urging  rein- 
forcements and  supplies,  while  yet  compelled  to  reinforce  and 
supply  others.  On  the  twelfth  of  September,  through  his 
intercessions,  there  were  in  the  State  of  Minnesota,  at  differ- 
ent points,  5,500  troops  of  all  kinds,  of  which  2,721  were 
regulars,  400  cavalry,  and  yet  but  1,500  or  1,600  of  these, 
with  only  25  mounted  men,  had  been  assigned  to  the  com- 
mander of  the  chief  expedition  I^  The  main  body  of  the 
enemy  concentrated  on  his  front.  What  better  rule  than  that 
of  old  and  wise  commanders  could  be  adopted,  ^  ^Divide  et 
imp€7-a,^'  a  result  effected  most  triumphantly  by  Colonel  Sib- 
ley's correspondence  with  Little  Crow,  and  a  friendly  element 
in  Little  Crow's  camp!  It  was  during  the  so-called  delay, — 
which  was  no  delay, — between  the  third  and  twenty  third  of 
September,  that  Little  Crow  and  his  bands  were  given  to 
understand  the  terms  on  which  Colonel  Sibley  would  consent 
to  treat,  viz.,  unconditional  surrender  of  the  captives^  or  uncon- 
ditional extermination !  And  yet  a  disposition  to  extend  mercy 
to  those  innocent  of  the  outrages  connected  with  the  massacre 
was  as  plainly  intimated  as  the  determination  to  punish  those 
guilty  of  the  same.  By  the  one  proposition  fear  was  engen- 
dered. By  the  other  hope  was  inspired.  By  both  division 
was  made,  and  dissension  kindled  in  the  enemy's  camp.  No 
less  than  four  diiferent  councils  were  convoked,  the  Upper 
Indians  arrayed,  in  a  measure,  against  the  Lower,  and  also 
quarreling  among  themselves.  Little  Paul,  Red  Iron,  Stand- 
ing Buffalo,  and  one  hundred  Sissetons,  determined  to  fight 
Little  Crow  himself  should  any  attempt  be  made  to  massacre 
the  captives  or  place  them  in  front  of  the  coming  battle,  and 
ready  to  sue  for  peace  on  such  terms  as  Colonel  Sibley  might 
grant.  It  was  half  the  victory.  The  hostiles  began  to  feel 
that  judgment  was  near,  their  doom  no  longer  slumbering. 
It  compelled  Little  Crow,  already  tortured  with  fear,  to  for- 
tify his  braves  with  self-conflicting  falsehoods  and  arts,  assur- 
ing them  that  3,000  British  were  ready  to  help,  that  Sibley's 
troops  were  ''a  pack  of  old  men  and  boys,"  to  shoot  whom 
was  a  waste  of  ammunition,  but  to  tomahawk  and  scalp  them 
a  trivial,  easy,  morning  diversion.  The  bridges  set  on  fire  to 
impede  his  advance;  the  constant  scoutipg  and  as  constant 
retreating;  the  suggestion  of  ambuscade;  the  taunts  of  the 


1  Executive  Docs.,  1802,  p.  27. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  271 

Upper  against  the  Lower  Sioux  as  cowards  not  daring  to 
fight;  the  little  bundles  of  painted  sticks,  eight  hundred  or 
more  in  number,  left  on  Prescott's  grave,  to  inform  the  whites 
what  force  they  must  meet;  the  defiant  bravado  stuck  on  the 
fence  near  Redwood  river,  "Come  on,  we're  ready  for  you;" 
the  price  set  on  Sibley's  head,  eighteen  young  Indians  detailed 
to  take  his  life,  only  betrayed  the  fact  that  Little  Crow  was 
even  then  the  victim  of  apprehension,  watching  and  waiting 
to  make  one  desperate  last  resistance,  and  win  or  lose  all  in 
one  final  engagement. 

When  the  sun  was  low,  September  22,  1862,  Colonel  Sib- 
ley's entire  command  encamped  on  the  high  prairies  near 
Wood  Lake,  three  miles  from  the  ford  of  the  Yellow  Medi- 
cine. Within  striking  distance  were  also  encamped  from  800 
to  1.000  warriors,  Medawakantons  and  Wahpekutas  of  the 
Lower,  and  Wahpetons  and  Sissetons  of  the  Upper,  Sioux, 
including  certain  Winnebagoes,  half-breeds,  and  deserters 
from  the  Renville  Rangers.  ^  On  the  morning  of  September 
23d,  at  half-past  seven  o'clock,  the  Indians  suddenly  attacked 
a  foraging  party  of  teamsters,  half  a  mile  distant  from  Colonel 
Sibley's  camp.  The  guards  returned  the  fire.  This  precipi- 
tated the  decisive  battle  of  Wood  Lake,  where  the  power  of 
Little  Crow  was  broken.  The  Third  regiment,  Major  Welch, 
without  orders,  and  impatient  for  the  fray,  formed  in  line, 
and,  crossing  the  ravine,  engaged  the  foe,  only  escaping  anni- 
hilation by  the  quick  order  of  Colonel  Sibley  calling  them 
back,  the  Indians  almost  surrounding  them.  The  Renville 
Rangers,  under  Lieutenant  Gorman,  were  ordered  to  advance, 
and  thrown  forward  to  check  the  assault,  the  Third  regiment 
supporting  them,  and  fighting  valiantly  a  hand-to-hand  con- 
test with  the  red  man.  Captain  Hendricks  of  the  artillery, 
under  the  immediate  supervision  of  Colonel  Sibley,  placed  his 
guns  at  the  head  of  the  ravine,  and  worked  them  with  de- 
structive effect.     The  battle  raged  furiously  for  two  hours. 


1  Rough  guesses  at  the  number  of  Indian  warriors,  concentrated  for  the  battle  of  Wood 
Lake,  have  been  reported  otiicially  and  become  a  matter  of  record,  which,  however,  more 
accnrate  information  showed  to  be  underestimates.  See  iRebellion  Record,  Vol.  XIII,  p.  745. 
"The  Indians  were  780."— Dakota  VVar-Whoop,  p.  219.  "Indians  to  the  number  of  eight 
hundred,  well  armed."— Adjutant  General's  Report,  Executive  Documents,  1862.  "The  num- 
ber actually  engaged  on  each  side  was  about  eight  hundred." — Heard's  Sioux  War,  p.  175. 
The  number  of  "painted  sticks,"  actually  counted,  gives  an  approximate  estimate,  but  not 
necessarily  perfect.  Major  General  Pope,  in  his  dispatch  to  Halleck,  September  23d,  says 
they  were  "2,000  warriors,"  Colonel  Sibley's  force  being  "l,6i}0  men  and  five  pieces  of  artil- 
lery." 


272  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

Unable  to  pierce  the  lines  in  front,  Little  Crow  attempted 
a  flank  movement  on  the  right,  in  the  ravine.  Colonel  Mar- 
shall was  then  ordered  to  charge  with  the  Seventh  regiment 
and  part  of  the  Sixth,  and  drive  the  Indians  from  their  posi- 
tion. The  charge  was  executed  in  the  most  brilliant  manner, 
on  a  double  quick,  in  the  face  of  incessant  volleys  from  the 
Indian  rifles,  which  fortunately  went,  for  the  most  part,  over 
the  heads  of  the  regiments,  and  the  Indians  were  routed  pre- 
cipitately, at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  A  similar  flank  move- 
ment on  the  left  was  also  disappointed  by  the  successful  ad- 
vance and  action  of  the  Sixth  regiment,  under  Major  McLaren 
and  Captain  Wilson.  The  staff  officers  of  Colonel  Sibley  ren  - 
dered  prompt  and  efficient  service  everywhere,  carrying  their 
orders  with  alacrity  and  regardless  of  danger.  The  friendly 
Indian  "Other-Day"  was  a  hero,  bounding  like  a  tiger,  with 
teeth  set,  into  the  thickest  of  the  fight,  his  face  radiant  with 
joy,  and  bearing,  as  it  were,  a  charmed  life.  "He  was  a  war- 
rior worthy  to  have  crossed  cimeters  with  Saladin  or  dashed 
with  Arabia's  mad  prophet  through  the  shock  of  Eastern 
war."  ^  Simon,  another  friendly  Indian,  a  spy  of  Colonel  Sib- 
ley, rushed  with  rare  daring  into  the  heart  of  Little  Crow's 
forces,  unscathed,  and  informed  his  friendly  kinsmen,  there, 
what  to  do.  The  conflict  was  severe.  At  length  the  Indians, 
unable  to  endure  the  murderous  fire,  broke,  and  retreated  in 
haste,  bearing  off  many  of  their  wounded.  The  casualties  of 
the  white  troops  were  fifty-four  killed  and  wounded,  the  In- 
dian loss  being  vastly  greater.  A  large  portion  of  Colonel 
Sibley's  force  was  held  in  reserve,  and  also  guarding  the  camp. 
The  smallness  of  his  loss  was  also  due  to  his  x>urpose  to  make 
it  so,  dealing  a  prompt  and  effective  stroke  at  the  outset, 
which  spared  the  greater  bloodshed  and  mortality  that  other- 
wise would  have  attended  a  more  doubtful  and  less  vigorous 
action.  The  Upper  Indians,  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  battle 
was  going  against  Little  Crow,  abandoned  the  Lower  Indians 
to  their  fate,  and  "  skedaddled  "  ^  from  the  field. 

Had  the  cavalry  force  under  Colonel  Sibley  been  effective, 
a  second  campaign,  the  following  year,  had  not  been  necessary. 
Neither  the  state  nor  the  general  government  provided  it. 
Three  hundred  mounted  men  had  sufficed  to  pursue  and  de- 

1  Heard's  Sioux  War,  pp- 1"5,  1"6. 

2  The  word  ".lU'laddled"  is  classic,  and  found  in  tlie  epitapli  of  the  heroes  who  fell  at 
Platea,  descrihlng  the  elFect  of  their  valor  loii  the  foe.    It  comes  from  the  Greek  "  skedan- 

DUIUI." 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  273 

stroy  every  one  of  Little  Crow's  miscreant  bands.  As  it  was, 
however,  the  battle  of  Wood  Lake,  fought  before  any  help  from 
Stanton,  Halleck,  or  Pope,  arrived,  was  decisive  and  conclu- 
sive of  the  Sioux  War.  It  was  fought  by  Minnesotians  alone. 
Its  importance  and  timeliness  to  the  state  were  inestimable.  If 
the  engagement  at  Birch  Coolie  saved  Mankato  and  St.  Peter, 
the  engagement  at  Wood  Lake  saved  the  State  of  Minnesota. 
It  broke  the  prestige  of  Little  Crow  and  dissolved  the  com- 
bination of  Indian  tribes  ready,  should  he  succeed,  to  renew, 
in  appalling,  widespread  horror,  the  massacre  he  had  initiated 
August  IS,  1862.  It  made  Standing  Buffalo  and  the  Upper  Sis- 
setons  the  enemies  of  Little  Crow.  It  released  troops  to  go  to 
the  seat  of  war  in  the  South.  It  brought  peace,  joy,  happiness, 
and  protection,  to  the  hearts  and  homes  of  Minnesota.  It  stop- 
ped the  "howlers  at  St.  Paul,"  brought  to  its  dying  cadences 
the  cry  of  "O/i  to  Little  Grow!^'  and,  with  the  gratitude  of  a 
nation  and  a  state,  secured  that  merited  promotion  which  trans- 
ferred Colonel  Sibley  from  the  rank  of  a  state  military  officer, 
under  its  executive,  to  the  rank  of  an  officer  in  the  United 
States  Army,  commissioned  as  a  brigadier  general,  in  token  of 
his  gallant  conduct  in  the  field,  a  step  to  still  higher  military 
honor  by  brevet.  Appropriate,  as  beautiful,  are  the  words  of 
Colonel  Sibley  to  his  anxious  wife: 

"Wood  Lake  (forty-five  miles  above  Fort  Ridgley),  September  23d. — 
Thanks  to  a  kind  Providence,  I  have  passed,  this  day,  through  a  sharp  bat- 
tle without  injury,  although  the  balls  flew  thick  and  fast  around  us.  A 
large  force  of  savages  attacked  us  this  morning,  and,  after  a  desperate  fight 
of  two  hours,  we  whii^ped  them  handsomely.  We  have  inflicted  so  severe 
a  blow  upon  them  that  they  will  not  dare  make  another  stand.  They  sent 
in  a  flag  of  truce,  ofleriug  to  surrender  if  I  would  promise  them  immunity 
from  punishment,  and  allow  them  to  carry  oft'  their  dead,  both  which  con- 
ditions were  peremptorily  refused.  Now  be  of  good  cheer,  and  trust  in 
God  that  we  shall  soon  be  reunited.  I  am  sending  down  a  train  for  pro- 
visions, of  which  we  are  greatly  in  need." 

After  this  decisive  battle.  Little  Crow  fell  back  to  a  point 
near  what  afterward  became  ^'Camp  Release,''^  and  remained 
there  till  hearing  of  the  advance  of  Colonel  Sibley.  On  the 
evening  of  the  battle  a  flag  of  truce  was  sent  to  Colonel  Sibley 
offering,  as  above  stated,  entire  surrender  of  the  Indian  forces 
upon  the  conditions  of  immunity  from  punishment  and  permis- 
sion to  carry  off  their  dead,  both  which  were  peremptorily  re- 
fused. On  the  twenty-fourth,  Ma-za-ku-ta-ma-ne,  Ta-o-pee, 
Wa-ke-wa-na,  Ma-za-mo-ui,  and  Aki-pa  sent  messages  to  Colo- 
is 


274  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

nel  Sibley,  from  Red  Iron's  village,  advising  him  of  the  situa- 
tion. Colonel  Sibley's  staff  officers,  urging  him  to  make  a  night 
march  upon  the  Indians  and  capture  their  camp,  he  declined 
their  proposition,  after  listening  respectfully  to  their  reasons, 
assuring  them  that,  did  they  but  know  the  Indian  character 
as  well  as  he  did,  their  proposition  could  have  found  no  place 
in  their  mind.  The  savages  had  mounted  scouts  watching 
him,  and  in  case  of  a  movement  under  cover  of  darkness,  the 
fact  would  be  communicated  to  Little  Crow  at  once,  and  the 
warriors  would  put  to  death,  if  possible,  all  the  female  cap- 
tives, disperse  to  the  prairies,  and,  no  cavalry  force  being 
with  him,  he  would  fail  to  take  a  solitary  prisoner.  He  pro- 
posed another  plan  to  himself  which  he  carried  out  success- 
fully. After  burying  the  dead  and  caring  for  the  wounded, 
Colonel  Sibley  broke  uj)  his  encampment,  and,  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  twenty-fifth,  crossed  the  Yellow  Medicine  river,  and, 
marching  five  miles,  bivouacked  on  the  open  prairie,  Sep- 
tember 26, 1862,  at  the  spot  subsequently  known  as  "  Gamp  Re- 
lease,^'' having  previously  dispatched  a  message  to  the  friendly 
Indians  apprising  them  of  his  intention  to  reach  them  the 
next  day.  Little  Crow,  despairing  of  success,  had  fled  with 
some  two  hundred  of  the  hostiles  toward  the  Yankton  Sioux 
on  the  James  river,  leaving  behind  him  the  rest  of  his  bands, 
the  captives,  the  friendly  element,  and  the  Renville  Ranger 
deserters,  all  in  his  camp,  surrounded  by  rifle  pits  and  some 
small  fortifications.  In  this  camp  were  one  hundred  and  fifty 
lodges,  by  this  time,  of  friendly  Indians,  all  the  rest  finding  it 
their  best  policy  now  to  play  the  ''''Good  Injun,^'  affecting  hor- 
ror at  the  outrages  of  the  massacre. 

Determined  not  to  be  deceived  by  flags  of  truce,  or  Indian 
cunning,  Colonel  Sibley  pitched  his  own  camp  "within  five 
hundred  yards"  of  the  Indian  camp,  covering  it  with  his 
guns.  ^  His  program  was  carried  out  successfully,  according 
to  arrangement  with  the  friendly  element,  the  white  rag  hoist- 
ed at  one  side  of  the  Indian  camp  where  the  captives  were 
gathered,  so  that,  in  case  of  resistance,  he  might  know  where 
to  direct  his  fire. 

Accordingly,  at  about  2  p.  m.,  September  26,  1862,  Colonel 
Sibley,  against  the  remonstrance  of  his  staff,  who  feared 
treacliery  and  the  possible  loss  of  their  loved  commander,  ac- 
companied by  a  few  officers  and  two  companies  of  infantry, 

1  Rebellion  Record,  Vol  XIII,  p.  079. 


II 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  275 

proceeded  straight  to  the  Indian  encampment,  drums  beating 
and  colors  flying.  Leaving  the  soldiers  outside,  he  entered 
the  camp,  with  an  air  of  sovereignty  and  military  supremacy, 
as  if  he  owned  the  universe.  It  was  a  historic  moment.  In 
his  own  impressive  words: 

"I  entered,  with  my  officers,  to  the  centre  of  the  circle  formed  by  the 
numerous  lodges,  and  seeing  the  old  savage  whom  I  knew  personally  as  the 
individual  with  stentorian  lungs,  who  promulgated  the  orders  of  the  chiefs 
and  head  men  to  the  multitude,  I  beckoned  him  to  me,  and,  in  a  peremp- 
tory tone,  ordered  him  to  go  through  the  camp  and  notify  the  tenants  that 
I  demanded  all  the  female  captives  to  be  brought  to  me  insianter.  And  now 
was  presented  a  scene  which  no  one  who  witnessed  it  can  ever  forget.  From 
the  lodges  there  issued  more  than  one  hundred  comely  young  girls  and 
women,  most  of  whom  were  so  scantily  clad  as  scarcely  to  conceal  their 
nakedness.  On  the  i^ersons  of  some  hung  but  a  single  garment,  while  pity- 
ing half-breeds  and  Indian  women  had  provided  others  with  scraps  of  cloth- 
ing from  their  own  little  wardrobes,  answering,  indeed,  a  mere  temporary 
purpose.  But  a  worse  accoutered,  or  more  distressed,  group  of  civilized 
beings  imagination  would  fail  to  picture.  Some  seemed  stolid,  as  if  their 
minds  had  l)een  strained  to  madness  and  reaction  had  brought  vacant  gloom, 
indifterence,  and  despair.  They  gazed  with  a  sad  stare.  Others  acted  differ- 
ently. The  great  body  of  the  poor  creatures  rushed  wildly  to  the  spot  where 
I  was  standing  with  my  brave  officers,  pressing  as  close  to  us  as  possible, 
grasping  our  hands  and  clinging  to  our  limbs,  as  if  fearful  that  the  red  devils 
might  yet  reclaim  their  victims.  I  did  all  I  could  to  reassure  them,  by 
telling  them  they  were  now  to  be  released  from  their  horrible  sufferings  and 
freed  from  their  bondage.  Many  were  hysterical,  bordering  on  convulsions, 
laughter  and  tears  commingling,  incredulous  that  they  were  in  the  hands  of 
their  preservers.  A  few  of  the  more  attractive  had  been  offered  the  alterna- 
tive of  becoming  the  temporary  wives  of  select  warriors,  and  so,  helpless  and 
powerless,  yet  escaped  the  promiscuous  attentions  of  a  horde  of  .savages 
bent  on  brutal  insult  revolting  to  conceive,  and  impossible  to  be  described. 
The  majority  of  these  outraged  girls  and  young  women  were  of  a  superior 
class.  Some  were  school  teachers,  who,  accompanied  by  their  girl  pupils, 
had  gone  to  pass  their  summer  vacation  with  relatives  or  friends  in  the  bor- 
der counties  of  the  state.  The  settlers,  both  native  and  foreign,  were,  for 
the  most  part,  respectable,  prosperous,  and  educated  citizens  whose  wives 
and  daughters  had  been  afforded  the  privileges  of  a  good  common  school 
education.  Such  were  the  delicate  young  girls  and  women  who  had  been 
subjected  for  weeks  to  the  inhuman  embraces  of  hundreds  of  filthy  savages, 
utterly  devoid  of  all  compassion  for  the  sufferers.  Escorting  the  captives  to 
the  outside  of  the  camp,  they  were  placed  under  the  protection  of  the  troops 
and  taken  to  our  own  encampment,  where  I  had  ordered  tents  to  be  pitched 
for  their  accommodation.  Officers  and  men,  affected  even  to  tears  by  the 
scene,  denuded  themselves  of  their  entire  underclothing,  blankets,  coats, 
and  whatever  they  could  give,  or  could  be  converted  into  raiment  for  these 
heart-broken  and  abused  victims  of  savage  lust  and  rage.  The  only  white 
man  found  alive  when  we  reached  the  Indian  encampment  was  George  H. 


276  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

Speucer,  wh^was  saved  from  death  by  the  heroic  devotion  of  his  Indian 
comrade,  but  yet  badly  wounded.  He  said  to  me,  ^It  is  God's  mercy,  that 
you  did  not  march  here  on  the  night  after  the  battle.  A  plan  was  formed,  had 
you  done  so,  to  murder  the  captives,  then  scatter  to  the  prairies,' — thus  verifying 
my  prediction  of  the  course  they  veould  pursue.  I  bless  God  for  the  wisdom 
he  gave  me,  and  whereby,  ivith  the  aid  of  my  brave  men,  in  spite  of  all  slander 
and  abuse,  I  icas  enabled  to  win  a  victory  so  decisive,  and  redeem  from  their 
ihraldom  those  unfortunate  sufferers  who  were  a  burden  on  my  heart  from  the  first 
moment  of  my  campaign.''^ 

In  his  official  reports  of  the  battle  of  Wood  Lake,  and  the 
release  of  the  captives,  first  to  Governor  Eamsey,  and  next  to 
Major  General  Pope,  Colonel  Sibley  praises  in  the  highest 
terms  the  gallantry  of  his  troops,  and  especially  that  of  the 
dashing  Lieutenant  Colonel  Wui.  R.  Marshall. 

There  are  scenes  of  thrilling  character  in  history,  when, 
after  the  painful  travail  of  captivity,  and  weary,  wakeful, 
almost  hopeless  watching,  the  long  dark  night  of  weeping,  suf- 
fering, and  bondage,  breaks  into  the  burst  of  a  splendid  sun- 
rise, and  the  birth  of  a  new  life,  pulsating  with  the  wild  throb 
of  deliverance,  and  souls  made  free  are  delirious  with  joy.  In 
the  body,  or  out  of  the  body,  at  such  a  time,  none  can  tell.  To 
shout  at  such  a  time,  to  sing,  to  weep,  to  laugh,  is  a  relief! 
It  seems  like  a  dream!  Tears,  smiles,  and  embraces,  from 
swelling  hearts  of  gratitude  and  love,  all  flow  together,  deliv- 
erer and  delivered  rejoicing  in  the  same  glad  jubilee.  When, 
under  the  sword  and  edict  of  Cyrus,  Judah's  captivity  was 
turned,  and  exiles  who  had  wept  by  Babel's  streams  returned 
to  their  homes,  all  seemed  a  dream.  ' '  When  the  Lord  turned 
our  captivity  we  were  like  them  that  dreamed.  Then  was 
our  mouth  filled  with  laughter  and  our  tongue  with  singing. 
They  that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy."  Thrilling  was  the 
scene  when  the  Crusaders,  under  Godfrey,  neared  the  Holy 
City,  and,  catching  the  first  sight  of  their  long  expectation, 
rose  in  their  wagons,  children  on  their  mother's  shoulders, 
shouting  "Jerusalem!  Jerusalem!"  Thrilling  the  scene  when 
tlie  Greeks  under  Xenoi)hon,  fu  the  celebrated  retreat  of  the 
10,000,  first  caught  a  glimpse  of  tlie  great  wide-spreading  sea 
with  its  heaving  billows,  and,  mounting  on  each  other's  shoul- 
ders, exclaimed  "The  Sea!  The  Sea!"  Thrilling  the  time  of 
Lincoln's  Emancipation  J*roclamation,  the  surrender  of  Lee's 
army  at  Api)omattox,  the  wild  shout  of  the  nation,  and  the 

1  Private  Notes  of  f'olonel  Sibley  on  the  Indian  Warof  1802.   See.also,  Rebellion  Record, 
Vol.  XIII,  p.  080. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  277 

cry  of  '^Victory!  Victory!"  guns  thundering,  wire#  shooting, 
■white  sails  and  steamers  speeding,  the  news  to  every  nation 
under  heaven.  And  unutterably  thrilling  that  crowning  day 
when  the  Union  armies,  radiant  in  triumph,  and  returning  to 
their  homes,  marched  before  the  capitol  in  Washington,  music 
sounding,  flags  flying,  the  wild  multitude  waving  hallelujahs  to 
them,  cheers  ringing  to  the  welkin,  as  their  proud  steps  bore 
the  pageant  —  not  twice  seen  in  a  century — to  its  close.  Those 
are  scenes  not  to  be  forgotten  by  any  who  beheld  them.  But 
not  more  deeply  graven  in  the  memory  were  such  events  than 
was  the  scene  at  Cam})  Belease,  September  26,  1862,  graven  in 
the  hearts  of  those  who  witnessed  it,  cut  "as  with  an  iron  pen 
and  in  a  rock,  forever;" — that  once-occurring  scene  when 
those  sad  delivered  captives,  the  long-abused  victims  of  con- 
cupiscence and  cruelty,  followed,  in  ragged  and  irregular  pro- 
cession, their  deliverer.  Colonel  Henry  Hastings  Sibley,  and 
torn,  tattered,  weeping,  smiling,  wondering,  naked,  hoping, 
and  rejoicing,  were  conducted  to  his  camp,  free,  forever,  from 
their  loathsome  bondage.  What  emotions  struggled  for  ex- 
pression in  the  breast  of  Colonel  Sibley,  what  in  the  breasts 
of  the  delivered  ones,  only  he  and  they  knew  to  whom  the 
anguish  and  the  joy  were  mutual.  Outside  of  these,  God  only 
is  a  partner  in  such  mysteries.  Colonel  Sibley's  proudest, 
noblest  title  is  not  "  First  Delegate  from  the  Territory  of  Min- 
nesota, "not  "  First  Governor  of  the  State,"  not  "Colonel  Com- 
manding the  Indian  Expedition,"  not  "Brigadier  General  in 
the  Army,"  nor  "Brevet  Major  General,"  but  this  one  word, 
^^ Deliverer  of  Minnesota' s  Captives''^  from  the  grasp  of  the  red 
man,  and  who  but  for  him  had  perished  in  their  chains.  If 
there  is  one  spot  upon  the  soil  of  Minnesota  worthy  to  be  con- 
secrated as  a  Mecca  for  her  sons,  one  acre  on  her  breast  on 
which  a  monument  might  tower,  heaven-pointing  and  sky- 
piercing  to  the  blue,  it  is  that  spot  called  "Camp  Eelease," 
where  Minnesota's  "Ebenezer"  should  be  raised  in  memory 
of  God's  mercy  to  the  captives,  and  to  the  state,  delivered  by 
the  faithful  Sibley  and  his  brave  men,  September  23  and  Sep- 
tember 26,  1862. 

Two  of  the  main  objects  of  the  expedition  having  been 
accomplished,  viz.,  the  defeat  of  the  Sioux  and  release  of  the 
captives,  the  other  two,  viz.,  the  punishment  of  the  guilty  and 
the  driving  of  the  Sioux  from  the  state,  remained  yet  to  be 
realized.   The  third  was  effected  through  the  arrest,  imprison- 


278  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

ment,  and  trial,  by  a  military  commission,  of  all  Indians  and 
half-breeds  suspected  of  participating  in  the  massacre  and 
outrages  that  had  happened  anywhere  in  the  state,  the  state 
concurring  in  the  findings  of  the  commission,  the  president 
of  the  United  States  nevertheless  modifying  the  same.  The 
fourth  was  achieved  by  the  special  legislation  of  Congress,  and 
through  the  Indian  campaign  of  the  following  year  under 
General  Sibley,  General  Sully  co-operating.  Previous  to  this, 
however.  Colonel  Sibley,  faithful  to  his  purpose,  thrice  form- 
ally applied  to  Governor  Eamsey  and  Major  General  Pope  to 
be  relieved  of  his  command,  now  that  the  campaign  was 
practically  ended,  and  the  captives  were  released.  ^  His  re- 
quest was  refused.  Considerations  of  public  necessity  forbade 
the  loss  of  an  officer  whose  services  were  so  important  to  the 
country,  and  whose  success  had  been  so  distinguished.  All 
his  staff  and  field  officers  earnestly  and  formally  entreated 
him  to  withdraw  his  application,  and  also  sent  their  written 
action  immediately  to  Major  General  Pope.^  The  news  of 
Colonel  Sibley's  victory  at  Wood  Lake  having  reached  the 
ears  of  the  war  department  at  "Washington,  its  immense  value 
not  only  to  the  State  of  Minnesota,  but  to  the  whole  country, 
in  the  throes  of  civil  war,  being  deeply  appreciated.  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  at  once  promoted  him  to  the  rank  of  ^''Brigadier 
General^''''  thus  transferring  him  from  the  rank  of  a  state  mili- 
tary officer,  subject  to  the  state  executive,  to  the  rank  of  a 
United  States  officer,  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  presi- 
dent as  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces  of  the  United  States. 
The  following  telegram  was  sent  to  Major  General  Pope: 

Washington,  D.  C,  September  29,  1862. 
Major  General  Pope,  St.  Paul,  Minnesota: 

Colonel  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  is  made  brigadier  general  for  his  judi- 
cious fight  at  Yellow  Medicine.  He  should  be  kept  in  command  of  that 
column,  and  every  possible  assistance  sent  to  him. 

H.  W.  Hallkck, 

Oencral-in-Chief.  ^ 

This  honor,  subsequently  confirmed  by  the  senate  of  the 
Unit«Ml  States,  was  accepted  by  Colonel  Sibley,  and,  at  the 
urgent  solicitation  of  the  government.  General  Sibley  re- 
mained at  his  post,  notwithstanding  much  loss  to  his  private 
interests.     September  28,  1862,  before  he  became  a  United 

1  Rebellion  lU'cord,   Vol.  XIII,  pp.  C80,  087,694. 

2  Il»l(l.,  p.  720. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  088. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  279 

States  officer,  he  organized  a  military  commission  composed  of 
Colonel  Crooks,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Marshall,  Captains  Grant 
and  Bailey,  and  Lieutenant  Olin,  the  Eev.  Dr.  Eiggs,  chaplain 
and  missionary  for  forty  years,  among  the  Sioux,  acting  as  the 
medium  of  communication  between  the  injured  captive  women 
and  the  commission,  Lieutenant  Isaac  V.  D.  Heard  acting  as 
recorder  and  Antoine  Frere  as  general  interpreter,  to  "try, 
summarily,  the  mulatto,  mixed -bloods,  and  Indians  engaged  in 
the  Sioux  raids  and  massacres."  ^  The  following  is  the  official 
order: 

Special  Ordee,  No.  55. 

Headquakters,  Cabip  Release, 
September  28,  1862. 
A  military  commission  composed  of  Colonel  William  Crooks  of  the  Sixth 
regiment,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Marshall  of  the  Seventh  regiment,  Captains 
Grant  and  Bailey  of  the  Sixth  regiment,  and  Lieutenant  Olin  of  the  Third 
regiment,  will  convene  at  some  convenient  place  in  camp  at  ten  o'clock  this 
morning,  to  try,  summarily,  the  mulatto  and  Indians,  or  mixed-bloods,  now 
prisoners,  who  may  be  brought  before  them  by  direction  of  the  colonel  com- 
manding, and  pass  judgment  upon  them  if  found  guilty  of  murder  or  other 
outrages  upon  the  whites  during  the  present  state  of  hostilities;  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  commission  to  be  returned  to  these  headquarters  imme- 
diately after  their  conclusion  for  the  consideration  of  the  colonel  command- 
ing. The  commission  will  be  governed  in  their  proceedings  by  military  laws 
and  usages.  Lieutenant  Heard,  adjutant  Ciilleu  Guards,  will  act  as  recorder 
to  the  military  commission. 

By  order  of  Colonel  H.  H.  Sibley,  Commanding  Military  Expedition. 

S.  H.  Fowler, 
Lieutenant  Colonel,  S.  31.,  A.  A.  Adjutant  General. 

To  this  tribunal  others  were  added  afterward,  as  became 
necessary.  The  commission  at  once  prepared  to  enter  on  its 
painful  and  laborious  duties.  No  court  calendar  ever  fur- 
nished an  arraignment  such  as  was  here  presented.  By  order 
of  General  Sibley,  three  hundred  captives  having  been  released 
and  provided  for.  Colonel  Crooks,  a  most  accomplished  officer, 
and  president  of  the  commission,  quietly,  with  troops,  sur- 
rounded the  Indian  camp,  on  the  night  of  September  30th, 
and,  disarming  its  inmates,  arrested  all  warriors  suspected  of 
massacre  and  outrage,  and  marched  them  to  the  ''log  jail," 
already  erected  in  the  heart  of  Camp  Release  for  their  special 
accommodation.  A  similar  movement  was  executed,  at  Yel- 
low Medicine,  by  Captain  "Whitney,  a  faithful  officer,  to  whom 
it  was  intrusted.     No  less  than  four  hundred  and  twenty -five 

1  Heard's  Sioux  War,  p.  251. 


280  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

Indians  and  half-breeds,  including  the  mulatto  ''Godfrey'^ 
who  turned  state's  evidence  against  his  compulsory  masters, 
were  enrolled  for  trial,  upon  the  separate  and  specific  charges 
of  "robbery,  rape,  and  murder."  The  commission  sat  from 
September  30  to  November  5,  1862,  when,  having  finished 
their  unparalleled  labors,  they  reported  to  General  Sibley  their 
judicial  findings,  to  which  he  affixed  his  approval.  Of  the 
425  arraigned  for  trial,  321  were  found  guilty  of  the  offenses 
charg'ed.  Of  these  303  were  sentenced  to  death  by  the 
halter,  the  other  18  condemned  to  various  terms  of  imprison- 
ment. ^  Strict  instructions  were  given  by  General  Sibley  that 
every  man  should  enjoy  a  fair  and  impartial  trial,  be  allowed 
the  best  possible  defense,  and  that  every  reasonable  doubt 
should  go  to  the  benefit  of  the  accused.  The  trials  were  con- 
ducted, mainly,  in  the  ' '  court  house  of  the  military  commis- 
sion," in  Camp  Sibley,  a  log  building,  whose  former  owner 
fell  in  the  massacre  of  August  18th,  and  whose  location  was 
within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  battle-field  of  Birch  Coolie.  The 
work  of  the  commission  finished,  and  the  time  for  the  troops 
to  go  into  winter  quarters  having  come,  the  camp  was  removed 
from  the  Lower  Agency  to  Camp  Lincoln,  between  Mankato 
and  South  Bend.  Here,  to  await  further  orders  from  the 
United  States  Government,  four  hundred  manacled  Sioux, 
condemned  and  uncondemned,  chained  in  pairs  together,  and 
crowded  in  wagons  containing  ten  to  twelve  each,  were  con- 
ducted, under  a  military  guard  of  1,500  infantry  and  cavalry, 
by  General  Sibley  in  person.  The  procession  was  such  as 
Minnesota  had  never  seen.  Eeaching  New  Ulm,  the  people 
made  an  insane  assault  upon  the  prisoners,  one  woman,  fren- 
zied with  rage,  cleaving  in  twain,  with  a  hatchet,  the  jaw  of 
an  Indian,  another  breaking  a  skull,  the  crowd,  composed 
mostly  of  women,  pelting  with  stones  and  bricks,  till  General 
Sibley,  as  a  prudential  measure,  gave  orders  to  pass  the  prison- 
ers and  troops  around  and  outside  of  the  town. 

November  10,  1802,  the  names  of  the  three  hundred  and 
three  convicted  Indians  and  half-breeds  were  forwarded  to 
President  Lincoln,  by  Major  General  Pope,  accompanied  by 
a  complete  record  of  the  charges,  specifications,  and  testimony 
in  each  case,  to  secure  his  approval  of  the  sentence,  and  obtain 
the  necessary  order  for  the  execution  of  each.  At  the  same 
time,  both  Governor  Eanisey  and  General  Pope  urged  upon 

1  Rebellion  Kucord,  Vol.  XIII,  p.  757. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  281 

the  president,  in  most  decided  terms,  the  instant  and  capital 
punishment  of  all  the  condemned,  without  exception.  ^  Three 
days  previously,  November  7th,  General  Sibley  had  dispatched 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Marshall  from  Camp  Release  to  Fort  Snel- 
ling,  with  1,800  captive  Indians,  mostly  women  and  children, 
under  a  strong  military  escort,  the  whole  train  measuring 
four  miles  in  length,  and  reaching  its  destination  Novem- 
ber 13th.  The  Indian  camp,  opposite  Camp  Release,  had  al- 
ready been  broken  up,  October  4,  1862,  and  the  men  not 
suspected  of  complicity  with  the  massacres  and  outrages  of 
August  18th  had  been  sent  to  the  agencies  to  gather  in  the 
winter  crops.  It  was  about  this  date  General  Pope  offered 
the  reward  of  five  hundred  dollars  for  the  capture  and  delivery 
of  Little  Crow,  "dead  or  alive,"  and  sent  to  Major  General 
Halleck,  October  10,  1862,  the  welcome  news,  "The  Sioux 
War  is  at  an  end."  ^ 

Of  what  transcendent  importance  the  brave  defenses  of 
New  Ulm  and  Fort  Ridgley  were,  not  only  to  the  state  but 
the  nation,  and  how  invaluable  the  victory  at  Birch  Coolie, 
as  also  the  repulses  at  Fort  Abercrombie  and  Forest  City 
about  the  same  time,  September  3,  1862,  and,  most  of  all,  the 
crowning  defeat  of  Little  Crow  at  Wood  Lake,  September  23, 
1862,  may  be  learned  from  this,  that  during  the  progress  of 
the  trials  evidence  was  found  complete  not  only  that  "the 
whole  Sioux  Nation  was  involved  in  the  war,"^  but  that  the 
Southern  Confederacy  fixed  its  hope  of  success,  in  no  small 
degree,  upon  "a  general  uprising  of  all  the  Indian  tribes  in 
the  Northwest,  about  the  month  of  September."*  British 
medals  were  found  in  the  hands  of  the  Sioux.  "Investigation 
showed  that  secession  had  sent  its  emissaries  not  only  to  the 
Dakotas  but  to  all  other  tribes  of  the  Northwest."^  Only 
when  it  became  known  what  was  the  force  in  General  Sibley's 
camp  did  "Hole-in-the-Day,"  the  Chippewa  chief,  befriend  the 
state,  and  assist  to  make  a  new  treaty  of  perpetual  friendship 
with  the  whites,  offering  to  war  against  Little  Crow.  Only 
when  the  battle  of  Wood  Lake  had  been  fought,  and  as  a  result 
the  siege  of  Fort  Abercrombie  was  raised,  did  the  Winneba- 
goes,  true  to  their  cunning,  and  courting  the  white  man's 

1  Rebellion  Record,  Vol.  XIII,  pp.  787,  788;  Heard's  Sioux  War,  p.  267. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  724. 

3  Heard's  Sioux  War,  p.  188. 

4  Dakota  War-Whoop,  p.  290 . 

5  Ibid.,  p.  289. 


282  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

favor,  j)roclaim  war  against  the  Sioux.  Prior  to  that,  all  the 
tribes  in  Wisconsin  had  sent  their  wampums  to  the  Winne- 
bago chief,  and  a  council  of  war  had  been  fixed  for  the  twen- 
ty-eighth of  September.  Notice  was  sent  from  the  South,  in 
these  words,  "  The  blow  will  he  struck  this  summer.''^  The  Hon. 
H.  M.  Eice  wrote  from  Washington  that  evidence  existed  to 
show  that  ^^the  Western  tribes  are  going  to  join  the  SoutJi,^^  that 
"///e  Sioiix  raids  are  induced  by  rebels  and  traitors  ivhose  emissa- 
ries are  sent  to  the  Chixypeioas  also,^^  and  that  ^^the  greatest  danger 
exists,'^ ^  the  Confederate  Government  urging  the  Indians  to 
combine  in  a  common  cause  against  the  United  States.  It  was 
a  critical  moment  for  the  country.  Federal  reverses  had  pro- 
duced despondency.  Confederate  success  had  filled  the  nation 
with  gloom.  Lee  was  marching  on  Hari)er's  Ferry,  Stonewall 
Jackson  entering  Maryland,  McDowell  was  arrested  for  trea- 
son, the  star  of  McClellan  was  waning,  Fitz  John  Porter  was 
suspected,  Cincinnati  was  under  martial  law,  Kentucky  in- 
vaded, and  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  suspended.  France  had 
thrown  30,000  men  into  Mexico,  and  England's  neutrality 
was  but  a  mere  cloak  to  prepare  for  a  vigorous  demonstration 
when  the  opportune  moment  of  weakness  in  the  United  States 
should  provide  a  sufficient  pretext.  Little  Crow  had  dared 
to  do  more  than  Lord  Palmerston.  Every  hour  furnished 
new  testimonials  to  the  far-sighted  wisdom  of  Colonel  Sibley 
in  refusing,  at  this  juncture,  to  move  without  a  sufficient 
force,  and  in  keeping  up  secret  correspondence  with  friends 
in  Little  Crow's  camp.  His  determined  demand  for  the  cap- 
tives, his  appeal  to  the  routed  foe  to  "return  and  surrender" 
as  the  "only  hope  of  mercy  to  any,"  all  showed  him  to  be  a 
commander  not  less  astute  in  diplomacy  than  consummate  in 
tact  and  successful  in  arms.  Lodges  to  the  number  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  were  gathered,  or  came  in,  until  Little  Crow 
was  left,  with  but  seventy  men,  to  wander  where  he  might,  to 
find  a  home,  evading  Standing  Buffalo's  knife,  or  begging 
powder  from  British  hands.  The  scouting  and  scouring  of 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Marshall,  so  efficient  and  faithful,  con- 
tributed largely  to  this  consummation. 

So  ended  the  military  expedition  intrusted,  by  Governor 
Eamsey,  to  ex-Governor  Sibley  at  Mendota.  In  the  almost 
irurr-edibly  sliort  ])ei'iod  of  one  month  and  six  days,  from 
August  20th  to  S«'pt('mber  2()th,  Colonel  Sibley  had  organized 

1  8t.  Paul  Itaily  PresH,  .ScptcinhtT  21,  1802. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  283 

the  expedition  In  the  midst  of  obstacles  almost  insurmounta- 
ble, fed  the  perishing  multitudes  at  St.  Peter,  sent  reinforce- 
ments to  Colonel  Flandrau,  relieved  Fort  Ridgley,  fought  the 
battles  of  Birch  Coolie  and  Wood  Lake,  released  300  helpless 
captives,  taken  the  whole  Indian  camp,  and  chained  425  war- 
riors in  irons.  In  one  month  and  ten  days  more,  from  Sep- 
tember 26th  to  November  10th,  he  had  organized  a  military 
commission,  tried  the  425,  convicted  321,  sentenced  to  capital 
punishment  303,  and  to  imprisonment  18,  having  captured  in 
all  over  2,200,  sent  1,800  to  Fort  Snelling,  besides  conveying 
425  to  Camp  Lincoln,  and  remanding  to  the  spade  and  the 
hoe  all  able-bodied  men  not  proved  to  be  guilty  of  the  crimes 
with  which  their  fellow  criminals  were  charged.  During  this 
period  he  had  traveled  three  hundred  miles,  clogged  by  his 
military  impedimenta,  and  on  roads  such  as  Nature  alone  i^ro- 
vides,  crossing  rivers,  camping  on  prairies,  exposed  to  the 
violence  of  storms,  sweltering  under  the  noontide  heat,  or 
shivering  with  arctic  cold,  burdened  by  day,  and  sleepless  at 
night.  In  the  space  of  one  month  and  twenty-one  days  from 
the  date  of  his  commission  as  colonel  commanding  the  Indian 
expedition,  i.  e.  from  August  19th  to  October  10th,  the  whole 
campaign  was  terminated  and  its  judicial  results  achieved, 
all  eyes  now  directed  to  the  general  government,  awaiting  its 
formal  sanction  of  what  had  been  done.  Major  General  Pope 
was  enabled  to  dispatch  the  news  to  Washington,  saying, 
^ *  The  Sioux  War  is  at  an  end. ' ' 

This  seems  wonderful.  It  demands  the  recognition  of  a 
special  Providence.  Pontiac's  War  lasted  six  years.  The  Semi- 
nole War  lasted  seven  years,  in  the  Everglades  of  Florida, 
and  cost  the  United  States  Government  $40,000,000.  The 
Sioux  War,  more  hideous  in  its  inception  than  even  King 
Philip's  cruelties,  lasted  only  one  month  and  six  days,  at  a 
cost  to  the  government  of  less  than  $250,000.  It  seems  incredi- 
ble, yet  it  is  true.  He  who  directed  the  footsteps  of  young 
Sibley  to  the  Western  wilds,  trained  him  for  fifteen  years, 
to  live  the  red  man's  life,  and  learn  the  red  man's  ways,  bap- 
tizing him  with  names  of  mystic  import,  ^^Ral  a  Dakotah,^' 
and  "  Walker-in-the-Fines,^^  meant  mercy  to  a  state  even  then 
unborn.  That  strange  preparation,  unconscious  of  its  aim, 
was  but  a  drill  room,  fitting  for  a  crisis  of  the  nation's  peril 
and  the  state's  calamity,  when  Colonel  Sibley's  experience, 
wisdom,  and  action  should  forestall  an   Indian  combination 


281  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

which,  if  unforestalled,  might  have  blotted  the  new-born  state 
from  the  Union,  and  changed  the  nation's  destiny.  Evermore, 
Providence  has  the  right  man  for  the  right  place.  On  the 
twenty-fifth  day  of  November,  1862,  by  virtue  of  the  removal 
of  Major  General  Pope  to  Madison,  Wisconsin,  his  new  head- 
quarters, General  Sibley,  nothwithstanding  all  previous  dis- 
positions and  arrangements,  became  general  commanding  the 
military  district  of  Minnesota,  General  Pope  commanding  the 
remainder  of  the  department  of  the  Northwest. 

The  fate  of  the  condemned  is  not  without  its  tragic  inter- 
est. Were  they  all  worthy  of  death  ?^  That  question  sprang 
into  existence  the  moment  the  labors  of  the  commission  were 
ended.  President  Lincoln,  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  forces,  forbade  the  hanging  of  anyone  convicted 
by  a  military  commission,  without  his  approval.  While  none 
in  the  State  of  Minnesota  doubted  the  justice  of  the  finding, 
oj)inion  was  divided  outside  of  the  state.  The  causes  of  this 
division  were  various.  The  feeling  that  the  white  man  was 
deeply  to  blame,  and  that  the  policy  of  the  government  was 
largely  responsible  for  the  outbreak,  the  spectacular  display 
of  three  hundred  and  three  human  beings  dangling  simul- 
taneously from  the  same  scaffold,  the  possibility  that  the  work 
of  the  commission  might  need  some  revision,  the  false  and 
mawkish  sentimentalism  of  men  opposed  to  capital  punish- 
ment, the  influence  of  the  Quakers  in  the  East  importuning 
President  Lincoln  not  to  suffer  such  an  execution,  certain 
uusent  apostles  of  the  pulpit  expounding  that  the  hanging 
of  ten  guilty  men  might  be  justified  but  the  hanging  of  three 
hundred,  equally  guilty,  would  be  intolerable;  these,  and  va- 
rious other  causes  induced  a  delay  on  the  part  of  Lincoln, 
such  as  to  beget  the  impression,  in  the  state,  that  executive 
clemency  would  finally  disappoint  the  public  expectation. 
From  November  10th  to  December  6th  passed  away  without 
any  decision.  It  was  a  long  list  the  president  had  to  review, 
and  serious  work  he  had  to  do,  and  his  business  and  his  cares 
were  already  legion.    With  a  solemn  sense  of  his  responsi- 

1  "The  Indians  have  not  been  without  excuse  for  their  evil  deeds.  Our  own  people  have 
given  them  intoxicating  drinics,  tauglit  them  to  swear,  violated  the  rights  of  womanhood 
among  them,  robl)ed  them  of  their  dueH  and  tlien  Insulted  tliem.  What  more  would  be  nec- 
essary to  make  one  nation  rise  against  another?  What  more,  I  ask?  And  yet  how  many 
curse  this  people  and  cry  Erlerminale  them  !  Dare  we,  as  a  nation,  thus  bring  a  curse  upon 
ourHelves  and  future  generations?"—"  Forty  Years  Among  the  Sioux,"  by  Rev.  S.  li.  Riggs, 
!».[>.,  LL.D.,  p.  178.  Comi)are  Neill's  Hist,  of  Minn.,  pp.  509,  510;  Heard's  Hist.  Sioux  War, 
Ai)pendlx,  pp.  343-3)4;  Bryant's  Indian  Massacre,  pp.  38-38. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  285 

bility  he  considered  every  case  by  itself,  read  every  Indian 
name,  wrote  it  out,  and  marked  the  number  of  it,  examining 
the  charge,  weighing  the  testimony,  and  pronouncing  his  de- 
liberate judgment.  How  conscientiously  this  was  done,  those 
who  knew  him  can  imagine.  Meanwhile  the  popular  indigna- 
tion and  impatience  of  the  state  were  aroused.  Protests  and 
appeals,  by  state  senators  and  representatives,  memorials  from 
the  valley  towns,  a  petition  from  St.  Paul  signed  by  three 
hundred  of  her  citizens,  the  influence  of  the  public  press,  two 
hundred  armed  men  marching  to  burst  through  the  military 
guard  at  Camp  Lincoln  and  commence  another  massacre  of 
all  the  Indians  under  sentence,  denunciation  of  the  "Eastern 
sympathizers  with  red-handed  miscreants  such  as  the  Puritans 
themselves  had  butchered,  burned,  scalped,  and  sold  to  slavery 
for  their  crimes,"  recital  of  the  "sufferings  the  infant  colonies 
had  borne,"  the  "justice  of  lex  talionis,^^  and  the  divine  decree 
that '  'whoso  sheds  man' s  blood,  by  man  his  blood  shall  be  shed, ' ' 
all  this,  crowned  with  the  faultless  sentiment,  ^^  Let  law  be  exe- 
cuted and  let  justice  have  its  course,^'  was  brought  to  bear  upon 
the  president.  General  Sibley,  though  mainly  in  accord  with 
the  popular  sentiment,  yet  issued  an  effective  military  order 
for  the  arrest  of  all  persons  conspiring  to  invade  the  camp, 
or,  by  unlawful  means,  take  vengeance  into  their  own  hands; 
an  order  promptly  executed  by  Colonel  Stephen  Miller  of  the 
Seventh  regiment,  commanding  the  post  at  Mankato.  How 
critical  the  situation  was  will  be  seen  in  the  following  military 
dispatches  between  Generals  Sibley,  Elliott,  Halleck,  and 
President  Lincoln: 

Headquarters  District  of  Minnesota, 

St.  Paul,  December  6,  1862. 

Brigadier  General  Elliott,  Commanding  Department: 

About  eleven  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  fourth  instant,  the  guard 
around  the  Indian  prisoners  at  Camp  Lincoln  were  assaulted  by  nearly  two 
hundred  men,  who  attempted  to  reach  the  prisoners,  with  the  avowed  in- 
tention of  murdering  the  condemned  prisoners.  Colonel  Miller,  command- 
ing, warned  previously  of  the  design,  surrounded  the  assailants  and  took 
them  prisoners,  but  subsequently  released  them.  Colonel  Miller  informs 
me  that  large  numbers  of  citizens  are  assembling,  and  he  fears  a  serious 
collision.  I  have  authorized  him  to  declare  martial  law,  if  necessary,  and 
call  to  his  assistance  all  the  troops  within  his  reach.  He  thinks  it  will  re- 
quire 1,000  true  men  to  protect  the  prisoners  against  all  organized  popular 
outbreak.  He  will  have  nearly  or  quite  that  number,  but  it  is  doubtful 
if  they  can  be  relied  on  in  the  last  resort. 


286  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

Please  telegraph  the  facts  to  the  president,  and  ask  instructions.  Any 
hour  may  witness  a  sad  conflict,  if  it  has  not  already  occurred. 

H.  H.  Sibley, 
Brigadier  General,  Commanding. 

Headquaetkes  Depaetment  of  the  Noethwest, 

Madison,  Wis.,  December  6,  1862. 
Major  General  H.  W.  Halleclc,  Washington,  D.  C: 

General  Sibley  reports  that,  on  the  fourth,  the  guard  around  the  Indian 
prisoners  at  South  Bend  were  assaulted  by  about  two  hundred  citizens  with 
intent  to  murder  the  Indians.  The  citizens  were  taken  prisoners,  but  sub- 
sequently released;  that  a  large  number  of  citizens  are  assembling,  and  a 
serious  collision  is  feared.  I  have  ordered  strong  re-enforcements  to  the 
guard  over  the  prisoners. 

W.  L.  Elliott, 
Brigadier  General,  Commanding. 

St.  Paul,  December  8,  1862. 
Brigadier  General  Elliott,  Commanding  Department  : 

Dispatches  and  private  letters  just  received  indicate  a  fearful  collision 
between  the  United  States  forces  and  the  citizens.  Combinations,  em- 
bracing thousands  of  men  in  all  parts  of  the  state,  are  said  to  be  forming, 
and  in  a  few  days  our  troops,  with  the  Indian  prisoners,  will  be  literally 
besieged.  I  shall  concentrate  all  the  men  I  can  at  Maukato.  But  should 
the  president  pardon  the  condemned  Indians,  there  will  be  a  determined 
effort  to  get  them  in  possession,  which  will  be  resented,  and  may  cost  the 
lives  of  thousands  of  our  citizens.  Ask  the  president  to  keep  secret  his 
decision,  whatever  it  may  be,  until  I  have  prepared  myself  as  best  I  can. 
God  knows  how  much  the  excitement  is  increasing  and  extending.  Tele- 
graph without  delay  to  headquarters. 

H.  H.  Sibley, 
Brigadier  General,  Commanding. 

Headquaetees  Depaetment  of  the  Northwest, 

Madison,  Wis.,  December  9,  1862. 
Major  General  H.  W.  Hallcck,    Washington,  D.  C: 

General  Sibley  reports  uiat  combinations,  embracing  thousands  in  all 
parts  of  Minnesota,  are  forming  to  get  the  condemned  Indians  in  their  pos- 
session. I  ask  that  the  action  of  the  president  may  be  kept  secret  until  we 
can  concentrate  the  troops,  to  prevent  a  collision,  if  possible. 

W.  L.  Elliott, 
Brigadier  General  United  States  Volunteers,  Commanding. 

All  proper  diligence  and  every  possible  precaution  were 
used  to  prev(;nt  the  gathering  of  the  rising  storm  of  popular 
violence,  and  the  outburst  of  pcut-up  revenge.  A  proclama- 
tion by  Governor  Karasey  to  the  people  as  "good  citizens," 
not  to  wreck,  by  acts  of  lawlessness,  the  public  order,  but 
"await  the  decision  of  the  overburdened  president,"  was  pro- 
ductive also  of  the  best  results. 


HON.  HENEY  HASTINGS  SIKLEY,  LL.D.  287 

The  decision  came  at  last.  Contrary  to  the  expectation 
of  the  people,  the  president  signed  the  death  sentences  of 
but  forty  of  those  condemned  by  the  commission,  approving 
only  the  execution  of  such  persons  as  the  testimony  showed 
had  been  "guilty  of  individual  murders  and  atrocious  abuse 
of  their  female  captives."  Of  these,  Otakla,  alias  Godfrey, 
was  allowed  a  commutation  of  sentence  to  ten  years'  imprison- 
ment. Tah-te-mi-na,  or  Eound  Wind,  of  whose  guilt  some 
lingering  doubt  remained,  as,  also,  in  view  of  what  his  noble 
relative,  John  Other-Day,  "had  done  in  behalf  of  the  whites," 
was  reprieved  by  the  president.  The  number  to  be  executed 
was  thus  reduced  to  thirty-eight. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  officially  certified  order  of 
President  Lincoln  to  General  H.  H.  Sibley,  December  6, 
1862,  and  a  copy  also  of  the  "Special  Order,  No.  59,"  based 
upon  it,  by  General  Sibley,  to  Colonel  Stephen  Miller,  De- 
cember 15,  1862,  to  carry  the  order  of  the  president  into  effect, 
on  Friday,  December  19,  1862. 

Executive  Mansion, 
Washington,  December  6,  1862. 
Brigadier  General  H.  H.  Sibley,  St.  Paul,  Minnesota: 

Ordered  that,  of  the  Indiaus  and  half-breeds  sentenced  to  be  hanged  by 
the  military  commission,  composed  of  Colonel  Crooks,  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Marshall,  Captain  Grant,  Captain  Bailey,  and  Lieutenant  Olin,  and  lately 
sitting  in  Minnesota,  you  cause  to  be  executed  on  Friday,  the  nineteenth 
day  of  December  instant,  the  following  named,  to-wit : 

"Te-he-hdo-ne-cha."  No.  2  by  the  record. 

"Tazoo"'  alias  "  Plan-doo-ta, "  No.  4  by  the  record. 

"Wy-a-tah-to-wah,"  No.  5  by  the  record. 

"  Hin-han-shoon-ko-yaz, "  No.  6  by  the  record. 

"  Muz-za-bom-a-du, "  No.  10  by  the  record. 

"  Wah-pay-du-ta,"  No.  11  by  the  record. 

"Wa-he-hua,"  No.  12  by  the  record. 

"Sna-ma-ni,"  No.  14  by  the  record. 

"Tah-te-mi-na,"  No.  15  by  the  record. 

"Rda-in-yan-kna,"  No.  19  by  the  record. 

' '  Do-wan-sa, ' '  No.  22  by  the  record. 

"Ha-pan,"  No.  24  by  the  record. 

"Shau-ka-ska"  (White  Dog),  No.  35  by  the  record. 

"  Toon-kan-e-chab-tay-mauee, "  No.  67  by  the  record. 

"E-tay-hoo-tay,"  No.  68  by  the  record. 

"  Am-da-cha,"  No.  69  by  the  record. 

"  Hay-pee-don  "  or  "  Wamne-omne-ho-ta, "  No.  70  by  the  record. 

"Mehpe-o-ke-na-ji,"  No.  96  by  the  record. 

"Henry  Milord,"  a  half-breed,  No.  115  by  the  record. 


288 


ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 


"  Chas-kay-don "  or  "Chaskay-etay,"  No.  121  by  the  record. 

"Baptiste  Campbell,"  a  half-breed,  No.  138  by  the  record. 

"  Tah-ta-kay-zay, "  No.  155  by  the  record. 

"  Ha-pink-pa, "  No.  170  by  the  record. 

"Hypolite  Auge,"  a  half-breed,  No.  175  by  the  record. 

"Wa-pay-shne,"  No.  178  by  the  record. 

"  Wa-kau-tau-ka, "  No.  210  by  the  record. 

"Toon-kan-ka-yag-e-na-jin,"  No.  225  by  the  record. 

"Ma-kat-e-na-jin,"  No.  254  by  the  record. 

' '  Pa-zee-koo-tay-ma-ne, ' '  No.  264  by  the  record. 

"  Ta-tay-hde-don, "  No.  279  by  the  record. 

"  Wa-she-choon  "  or  "  Toon-kan-shkan-shkan-mene-hay, "  No.  318 
by  the  record. 

"A-e-cha-ga,"  No.  327  by  the  record. 

"  Ha-tan-in-koo, "  No.  333  by  the  record. 

"  Chay-ton-hoou-ka, "  No.  342  by  the  record. 

"  Chan-ka-hda, "  No.  359  by  the  record. 

"Hda-hin-hday,"  No.  373  by  the  record. 

"Oh-ya-tay-a-koo,"  No.  377  by  the  record. 

' '  May-hoo-way-wa, ' '  No.  382  by  the  record. 

"  Wa-kin-yan-na, "  No.  383  by  the  record. 
The  other  condemned  prisoners  you  will  hold  subject  to  further  orders, 
taking  care  that  they  neither  escape,   nor  are  subjected  to  any  unlawful 
violence. 

(Signed,)  Abraham  Lincoln, 

President  of  the  United  States. 


Headquarters,  District  of  Minnesota, 

Department  of  the  Northwest, 

St.  Paul,  Minn.,  December  13,  1862. 

[Special  Order,  No.  59.] 

The  order  of  the  president  of  the  United  States,  of  which  the  foregoing 
is  a  true  copy,  will  be  carried  into  full  effect  on  the  day  prescribed,  that  is 
to  say,  on  Friday,  the  nineteenth  day  of  the  present  month,  by  Colonel 
Stephen  Miller,  commanding  at  Mankato,  at  such  hour  and  place  as  he  may 
appoint. 

H.  H.  Sibley, 
Brigadier  General,  Commanding. 

St.  Paul,  Minn.,  April  17,  1876. 
I  hereby  certify  that  the  foregoing  copies  of  orders  for  the  execution  of 
the  Sioux  Indians  concerned  in  the  outbreak  of  1862,  are  true  transcripts 
of  the  originals,   wiiich    have   been  donated  to    the  Minnesota  Historical 
Society. 

H.  H.  Sibley. 

In  response  to  "Special  Order,  No.  59,"  Colonel  Miller 
communicated  with  General  Sibley.  The  time  between  the 
seventeenth  and  nineteenth  was  too  limited  to  sufficiently 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  289 

prepare  for  the  execution.  General  Sibley  instantly  tele- 
graphed to  President  Lincoln,  who  replied  to  the  telegram, 
fixing  the  time  for  the  execution  at  the  general's  suggestion, 
and  which  was  consequently  fixed  for  a  week  later. 

Executive  Mansion, 
Washington,  December  16,  1862. 

Brigadier  General  H.  H.  Sibley,  St.  Paul,  Minn.: 

As  you  suggest,  let  the  execution  fixed  for  Friday,  the  nineteenth  in- 
stant, be  postponed  to,  and  be  done  on,  Friday,  the  twenty-sixth  instant. 

A.  Lincoln. 

Operator  —  Please  send  this  very  carefully  and  accurately. 

In  obedience  to  this  arrangement,  Colonel  Miller,  under 
date  of  December  17,  1862,  announced  that  Friday,  December 
26, 1862,  at  half-past  ten  o'clock  of  the  forenoon,  the  execution 
would  take  place  at  Mankato. 

The  awful  day  was  approaching,  rapid  as  the  fates  could 
spin  and  cut  off  their  threads.  Monday,  December  22,  the 
condemned  were  removed  from  the  log  jail  to  a  separate  room 
in  a  stone  building  adjoining,  and  given  the  spiritual  counsel 
of  Dr.  Williamson  and  Father  Ravoux.  Tuesday,  the  twenty- 
third,  having  parted  from  friends  who  came  to  see  them,  they 
improvised  a  war-dance,  during  which  they  chanted  their 
death-song.  Wednesday,  the  twenty  fourth,  each  man  was 
allowed  to  take  leave  of  his  relatives.  The  scenes  were  sad 
and  affecting,  as  they  spoke  of  their  wives  and  children  whose 
wrongs  they  had  only  avenged.  Many  wept  big  tears  as  they 
alluded  to  the  wigwam  bereaved  of  its  joy,  and  took  their  last 
leave  of  the  homes  and  land  of  their  sires,  torn  from  their 
grasp  by  the  white  man's  hand.  Thursday,  the  twenty-fifth, 
the  women  are  admitted.  Lockets  of  hair,  blankets,  and  beads, 
coats,  pipes,  and  trinkets  of  all  kinds,  are  bequeathed  as  dying 
gifts,  and  mementoes  of  human  affection.  One  message  is  sent 
to  all  their  friends.  It  is  not  to  mourn  their  loss.  Ta-zoo  or 
Eed  Otter,  affects  to  joke.  Tah  te-mi-na,  or  Eound  Wind, 
yet  unreprieved,  is  baptized.  Tip-of-the-Horn  hopes  the 
"Great  Wakan"  will  save  him.  Walker-cladin-the-Owl's- 
Tail  has  nothing  to  say.  Many  profess  themselves  penitent 
and  look  to  Christ  for  the  pardon  of  sin.  It  seems  as  if  a 
door  of  hope  had  been  opened  to  some  of  these  poor  Dakota 
Gentiles,  by  the  pious  labors  of  Dr.  Williamson  and  Father 
Eavoux,  who  taught  them  to  say: 


290  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

"Jesus  Christ,  nitowashti  kin, 
Woptecashna  mayaqu. 
Jesus  Christ,  thy  loving  kindness 
Boundlessly  thou  gavest  me." 

Later  at  night  they  are  chained  to  the  floor,  some  singing, 
some  smoking,  some  sleeping.  They  appear  contented  and 
cheerful. 

Black  Friday,  December  26,  1862,  only  two  days  previous 
to  the  day  the  Indians  had  agreed  upon  for  a  general  council 
of  war,  has  come.  Martial  law  has  been  proclaimed.  The 
saloons  are  closed.  The  hotels  are  crowded.  At  dawn  of  the 
day,  their  friends  having  entered,  they  tell  them  they  wish  to 
die  happy,  not  sadly,  but  bravely,  like  true  Dakotas.  They 
are  anxious,  however,  to  look  well  as  they  march  to  the  expia- 
tion. Their  eagle-x^lumes,  and  feathers  of  the  owl's  tail,  are 
adjusted  with  care,  and  their  faces  retouched,  in  artistic  mode, 
with  vermilion  and  ultramarine.  They  shake  hands  with  the 
officers,  bid  them  good  bye,  and  perform  together,  with  plain- 
tive wail,  the  sad  music  of  the  Indian  death  song.  At  7:30  a. 
M.  they  are  pinioned.  The  death-song  is  again  sung.  Father 
Eavoux,  in  the  Dakota  tongue,  devoutly  commends  them  to 
the  mercy  of  God.  Some  solemnly  respond  to  his  prayer, 
others  sob  loudly.  Hot  tears  fall  heavily  to  the  ground.  A 
last  word  is  spoken.  They  look  into  their  little  pocket  mir- 
rors to  see  if  the  feathers  and  the  paint  are  all  right.  Their 
toilet  is  perfect. 

At  ten  o'clock  precisely,  they  move  to  the  scaffold,  through 
files  of  soldiers,  and  are  delivered  by  Captain  Eedfield  to  Cap- 
tain Burt,  the  officer  of  the  day.  Again  the  death-song  is 
sung  as  they  ascend  the  platform  soon  to  slip  from  their  feet. 
This  time,  however,  it  is  mingled  with  the  hideous  "i/i-yi-yi," 
even  after  the  caps  were  drawn  over  their  faces.  The  noose 
is  adjusted  to  each.  Cut  N'ose,  a  brute  to  the  last,  commits  a 
nameless  insult.  All  is  ready.  The  supreme  moment  has 
come.  The  scaffold  stands  in  the  midst  of  the  troops,  who 
are  formed  in  a  hollow  square  near  the  river  front.  From  its 
beams  thirty-eight  ropes  are  suspended,  now  fastened  to 
thirty-eight  necks.  It  is  winter,  and'wet  and  cold,  yet  every 
stre(;t  and  house  and  hotel,  door,  window,  and  eligible  spot, 
is  crowded.  The  poor  wretches  try  to  clasp  hands,  some  suc- 
ceeding,— they  stand  so  closely  together, — the  grasp  unre- 
laxed  even  in  death.  Three  low  beats  of  the  drum  by  Major 
Brown,  slow,  steady,  measured,  dismal,  and  funereal.     One,- 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  291 

Two,-Three!  aud  the  rope  of  the  platform  is  cut  by  Mr.  Diiley  of 
Lake  Shetek,  whose  wife  and  two  children  had  been  cai)tured, 
and  three  children  killed.  The  scaftbld  floor  falls,  and  thirty- 
eight  bodies,  spasmodic  in  agony,  writhe  and  twist  and  turn 
and  whirl  on  their  halters.  A  universal  cheer  goes  up  from 
citizens  and  soldiers  alike,  protracted,  repeated,  yet  somewhat 
subdued,  blood-curdling,  horrific.  The  dying  hear  it.  Retri- 
bution has  come.  Justice  alone,  in  that  hour  of  excitement, 
retains  her  composure  and  looks  on  the  scene  with  a  face 
undisturbed  and  calm.  On  every  side  is  a  jubilee,  and  the 
Angel  of  Judgment  seems  to  intone  the  solemn  "^mew."^ 
Tragic  end,  not  less  tragic  than  the  massacre  itself!  The 
bodies  of  the  culprits  are  cut  down  when  life  is  extinct,  piled 
into  four  army  wagons  and  borne,  by  a  burial  party  under 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Marshall,  to  a  sandbank  in  the  Minnesota 
river,  where,  in  a  common  ditch,  thirty  feet  long,  twelve  wide, 
in  double  rows,  first  blankets,  then  earth  thrown  upon  them, 
their  uncofQned  remains  are  sunk  out  of  sight.  ^  What  be- 
came of  them,  immediately  afterward,  the  medical  profession 
can,  perhaps,  best  inform  the  world !  All  that  remained  to 
be  done  now,  so  far  as  this  sad  affair  was  concerned,  was  to 
report  to  the  president  the  fulfillment  of  his  order,  which  Gen- 
eral Sibley  did  in  the  following  telegram: 

St.  Paul,  Mixn.,  December  27,  1862. 
Tlie  President  of  the  United  States: 

I  have  the  honor  to  iuform  you  that  the  thirty-eight  Indians  and  half- 
breeds,  ordered  by  you  for  execution,  were  hung  yesterday  at  Mankato,  at 
10  A.  M.  Everything  went  off  quietly,  and  the  other  prisoners  are  vrell 
secured.  Eespectfully, 

H.  H.  Sibley, 

Brigadier  General. 

Throughout  this  trying  ordeal,  as  in  the  field  itself,  and 
camp,  the  staff  and  field  officers  of  General  Sibley  won  for 
themselves  the  highest  praise.  Colonel  Crooks,  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Marshall,  Colonel  Miller,  Colonel  McPhail,  Captain 
Whitney,  Major  Brown,  Major  McLaren,  like  others,  were 
gentlemen  of  pure  character,  accomplished,  brave,  and  faithful 
to  the  state.  For  the  hardships  they  endured,  the  invaluable 
services  they  rendered,  and  the  deliverance  they  wrought, 
with  the  troops  at  their  command,  the  state  can  never  make  a 
sufficient  testimonial  of  its  gratitude. 

1  For  a  fall  description  of  the  scene,  see  St.  Paul  Daily  Press,  September  28, 1862,  and  the 
Pioneer  and  Democrat,  same  date. 


292  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

To  assist,  as  far  as  possible,  the  completion  of  the  fourth 
great  object  sought  by  General  Sibley  in  his  Indian  expedi- 
tion, but  Tvhich,  for  want  of  a  cavalry  force,  was  still  left 
incomplete,  viz.,  to  drive  the  Sioux  and  their  allies  from  the 
state.  Congress  took  efficient  action.     During  the  months  of 
February,  March,  and  April,  1863,  it  legislated  the  abrogation 
of  all  existing  treaties  with  the  Sioux  bands,  or  Dakotas,  in 
the  state,  the  forfeiture  to  the  government  of  their  annuities 
and  claims,  and  the  appropriation  of  $200,000,  at  present,  to 
the  survivors  of  the  massacre  and  sufferers  from  the  Indian 
depredations.     The  removal,  also,  of  the  Sioux  bands  outside 
the  limits  of  the  state,  and  with  them,  the  removal  of  the  Win- 
nebagoes  also,  the  sale  of  their  reservation  for  their  benefit, 
and  the  extension  of  the  United  States  laws  over  them,  was 
enacted,  both  tribes  to  be  transported  into  distant  but  contigu- 
ous territory.     In  this  way,  the  popular  demand  for  the  exe- 
cution of  the  reprieved  Indian  prisoners  was  abated,  no  less 
than  1,000,000  acres  of  their  land  being  now  thrown  open  to 
public  sale  at  the  government  price,  and  of  immense  value 
to  the  settlers  in  the  state.     Though  the  Hon.  H.  M.  Rice  had 
written  from  Washington,  to  General  Sibley,  that  "more  exe- 
cutions would  take  place,  if  necessary,"  yet  the  cry  for  more 
blood  was   moderated  by  the  vision  of  more  compensating 
acres.     Pursuant  to  this  legislation,  the  remainder  of  the  con- 
demned at  Mankato  were,  in  the  spring  of  1863,  quietly  placed 
upon  the  steamer  Favorite,  and  removed  to  Camp  McClellan, 
Davenport,  Iowa,  where  for  eighteen  months  they  were  held 
and  treated  as  convicts  of  the  state  prison.     Of  the  Fort  Snell- 
ing  prisoners,  whom  disease  and  sorrow  had  spared  to  drag 
out  a  wretched  existence,  the  whole  number  of  them,  now 
1,300,  soon  followed,  taking  a  last  look  at  the  hills  and  plains 
they  loved  so  well.     May  4,  1863,  loaded  on  a  steamer  at  the 
dock,  and  pelted  with  stones  as  they  stood,  crowded,  on  its 
boiler  deck,  men,  women,  and  children,  their  blankets  their 
only  rampart  of  protection,  they  were  sent  for  up  the  Missouri 
river  to  the  Crow  Creek  reservation,  on  which  neither  the  rain 
nor  dew  seemed  to  fall,  their  numbers  reduced  to  1,000  before 
reaching  their  destination.     Such  the  .status  of  things  within 
six  months  after  the  massacre  of  August,  1862. 

An  event  like  the  Sioux  massacre,  which,  even  in  the 
throes  of  our  Civil  War,  attracted  the  attention  of  the  nation, 
could  not  but  lead  to  serious  reflection.     That  General  Sibley 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  293 

had  doue  his  whole  duty,  releasing  the  captives,  arresting, 
trying,  and  condemning  the  Indian  prisoners,  and  disappoint- 
ing the  Confederate  expectation  of  Indian  help  from  the  North- 
west, was  a  fact  everywhere  recognized.  At  the  same  time, 
conversant  with  the  Indian  policy  of  the  government,  and 
what  the  Indians  had  suffered,  he  was  the  last  of  men  to  hold 
that  the  outbreak  was  "without  excuse,"  or  that  the  thirty- 
eight  who  swung  from  the  scaffold  were  "sinners  above  all  " 
who  dwelt  in  Minnesota  or  the  United  States.  With  the 
bloody  cry  of  "extermination  "  he  had  no  sympathy,  although 
his  heart  was  "steeled"  against  the  guilty  perpetrators  of 
deeds  too  cruel  to  relate.  He  thought,  wisely,  that  the  just 
punishment  of  crime  is  no  defense  of  the  causes  by  which  the 
crime  itself  was  provoked,  and  that  the  terrible  massacre  in 
Minnesota,  like  the  Civil  War  itself,  was  a  judgment  of  Hea- 
ven for  oppression  and  wrong,  which,  from  the  foundation 
of  the  government,  had  not  ceased  to  merit  divine  displeasure. 
He  saw  in  the  events  of  the  time  only  another  instance  of  the 
operation  of  that  same  law  to  which  the  pagan  poet  referred 
when  instructing  the  Romans  that  they  suffered  because  of 
^^delicta  majorum,^^  as  well  as  for  crimes  of  their  own.  He  had, 
in  the  halls  of  Congress,  already  forewarned  the  nation  of  what 
was  most  certain  to  come.  He,  moreover,  vindicated  the  char- 
acter of  the  Indian  from  the  convenient  aspersion  of  excessive 
brutality  and  inhumanity,  of  which  it  was  common  to  say  the 
white  man  was  wholly  incapable.  And  in  this  he  was  right, 
all  well-informed  men  concurring.  The  guilt  of  the  massacre 
was  a  divided  guilt,  and  at  the  white  man's  door  lay  a  heavy 
responsibility,  from  which  no  argument  of  "public  policy 
against  individual  right,"  nor  "law  of  progress,"  "superior 
race,"  and  "Christian  civilization,"  could  ever  excuse.  He 
condemned  the  one-sided  self-justifying  temper  of  the  times 
inspired  by  lust  of  territorial  acquisition,  and  greed  of  per- 
sonal gain,  which  remitted  to  oblivion  the  provocation  given 
to  the  Indian,  and  remembered  only  the  Indian's  revenge. 
Unwilling  to  abate  one  jot  of  the  claims  of  justice,  he  was  as 
unwilling  to  abate  one  jot  of  the  claims  of  truth.  For  slander 
he  cared  nothing.  With  his  eyes  full  on  the  facts,  he  could 
say  that  the  Indian  i)olicy  of  the  United  States  Government 
toward  the  red  man  was  "one  of  the  foulest  blots  on  our  na- 
tional escutcheon."  He  had  lived  among  the  Indians,  almost 
as  one  of  their  number,  for  fifteen  years.    He  knew  them  well. 


294  ANCESTEY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

He  repudiated  the  sentiment  which  credits  to  the  white  man's 
nature  an  excess  of  virtue  over  that  in  the  red  man's  blood. 
And  he  knew,  too  well,  that  even  in  his  most  barbarous  mood, 
when  exasperated  to  revenge,  and  maddened  in  despair,  the 
red  man  had  committed  no  deed  so  foul  but  that  the  white 
man  could  match  it,  and  even  surpass  it.  Therefore,  even  in 
the  hour  of  execution,  he  felt  that  the  Indian,  though  guilty, 
and  righteously  punished,  yet  died  the  victim  of  the  white 
man's  avarice,  injustice,  and  wrong. ^ 

It  is  time  the  white  man  ceased  to  plume  himself  upon  his 
superior  virtue,  culture,  humanity,  and  civilization !  The 
dark  eclipse  of  depravity^  common  to  the  nature  of  all  men. 


1  The  folloTiving  letter  of  Bishop  AVhipple  shows  how  intense  the  rage  for  "extermina- 
tion" was,  and  how  even  the  best  of  men  were  maligned  and  misrepresented  if  not  chiming 
in  with  the  insane  demand  for  a  massacre  of  all  the  Indians  : 

Faribault,  December  8, 1862. 
To  General  Sibley: 

Dear  Sir:  Your  private  and  official  letters  are  here  by  to-day's  mail.  I  fully  approve 
of  your  reasons  for  your  decision,  and  agree  with  you  in  other  matters.  My  views  have 
always  been  very  sharp  and  well  defined  as  to  the  necessity  of  prompt  punishment  for  crime, 
and  although  a  clergyman,  I  have  always  refused  to  sue  for  pardon  even  where  my  sympa- 
thies were  deeply  enlisted.  I  feel  that  the  wretched  Indians  have  sinned  against  the  light  of 
nature,  and  by  the  laws  of  God  and  man  have  forfeited  their  lives.  *  *  *  it  is  due  to  the 
cause  of  truth  that  false  calumnies  should  be  exposed.  The  way  is  by  no  means  clear  for  the 
future,  but  I  do  hope  and  pray  that  God,  in  his  infinite  mercy,  will  lead  us  where  we  are  blind, 
and,  out  of  all  this  trouble,  bring  us  to  a  place  of  safety.  Should  any  be  so  blind  as  to  sup- 
pose I  sympathize  with  the  guilty  you  will  do  vie  a  favor  by  denying  it,  and  giving  my  real  views 
which  aim  at  the  reform  of  our  corrupt  system.    I  am  with  high  respect. 

Yours  Faithfully, 

W.  B.  Whipple, 
Bishop  of  Minnesota. 

And  what  a  treatment  the  Indians  have  received  at  the  hands  of  the  government,  under 
its  " corrupt  system,"  the  following  words  of  General  Sibley  sadly  and  painfully  show: 

The  history  of  the  treatment  of  the  various  tribes  of  Indians  by  the  United  States 
Government  constitutes  one  of  the  foulest  blots  ou  our  national  escutcheon.  The  volume 
containing  the  long  list  of  treaties  negotiated  within  the  last  century  alfords  conclusive 
eviilence  of  the  violation  of  public  faith.  I  will  venture  to  assert  that  not  one  of  the  numer- 
ous treaties  on  the  statute  books  lias  ever  been  scrupulously  fulfilled  by  the  United  States 
Government.  The  poor  savages  have  been  beguiled,  time  after  time,  by  promises,  made  only 
to  be  disregarded,  to  relinquish  their  possessory  rights  to  the  lands  of  their  fathers.  The 
senate  has  often  assumed  to  make  radical  changes  in  these  so-called  treaties,  without  obtain- 
ing the  jirevious  assent  of  the  other  parties  to  the  contract,  and  Congress  has  almost  uni- 
fornily  failed  to  make  the  stipulated  appropriations  within  the  appointed  time.  Agents, 
incompetent  or  dishonest,  have,  as  a  general  rule,  been  charged  with  the  disbursement  of 
the  funds,  and  with  the  distrit)utiou  of  goods  and  provisions,  and  what  was  not  appropriated 
to  private  use  has  oftentimes  been  doled  out  to  the  recipients  un('<|\ially,and  gross  favoritism 
generally  practiced.  The  government  has  been  guilty  of  utter  indillcrence  to  the  fate  of 
these  so-called  wards  of  the  nati<jn,  has  pursued  no  .settled  policy  looking  to  civilizing  and 
preHtrvlng  lliein  from  the  niuneroiis  hali.'ful  influences  which  were  sure  to  work  their 
destruction  within  a  brief  period,  and  nuide  no  cllbrt  to  lit  them  to  become  members  of  the 
body  politic.  Unfortunately  for  the  poor  creatures,  they  had  no  votes  to  dispose  of,  and, 
conHe<)uently,  high  and  low  government  oflicials.and  members  of  Congress,  as  a  general  rule, 
cared  little  for  appeals  uiadeiutbiMr  behalf  by  their  few  philanthropic  friends. —  Private 
Notes  by  (ieneral  Sibley,  pp.  .3,  4. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  295 

white,  black,  red,  russet,  or  yellow,  has  cast  its  dread  shadow 
over  sixty  centuries,  in  all  climes,  from  the  day  the  first 
born  of  woman  imbrued  his  hands  in  his  brother's  blood,  to 
the  sound  of  the  last  tomahawk  struck  in  the  brain  of  a  help- 
less babe.  Concede  what  natural  good  we  may,  still  the  evil 
everywhere  asserts  itself.  Ovid's  ^^  video  meliora,  proboque, 
deteriora  sequor,^^  is  universal.  And  the  ''sequor^'  ripens  to 
enormities  no  tongue  can  tell.  Before  Dakota  and  Winne- 
bago existed,  it  brought  a  deluge  on  the  earth  that  swept  out 
of  life  the  entire  race  of  men,  eight  persons  only  excepted, 
and,  once  more,  caused  hell  to  rain,  out  of  heaven,  brimstone 
and  fire  on  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  for  their  beastly  pollu- 
tions. Indian  barbarity,  forsooth!  Are  Nero  and  Antiochus 
forgotten?  To  come  still  closer  to  our  "  culture"  and  "Chris- 
tian civilization,"  is  the  sacking  of  Zutphen,  St.  Quentin  and 
Antwerp  deemed  human  ?  Have  the  massacres  of  St.  Bartholo- 
mew, the  Sicilian  Vespers,  Armagnac,  Meerut,  and  Cawnpore 
passed  out  of  mind?  Or  is  the  schoolboy  ignorant  that  the 
wars  of  Sioux  and  Ojibwas  pale  away  before  the  feuds  of  the 
Scotch  Highlanders  ?  Surajah  Dowlah  smothered  one  hundred 
and  twenty-three  Englishmen,  one  airless  night,  in  the  "Black 
Hole  of  Calcutta."  "Warren  Hastings  swept  the  Carnatic 
with  fire  and  sword,  destroying  men,  women,  and  children,  to 
save  an  English  company  from  bankruptcy,  and  murdered 
1,100  men  in  cold  blood  to  gain  the  kingdom  of  Oude.  Who 
has  not  heard  of  Nana  Sahib,  the  indignities  offered  to  the 
daughters  and  wives  of  English  soldiers,  two  hundred  and  six 
helpless  women  butchered  in  one  room,  the  same  hour  ?  In- 
dian barbarity!  The  English  pricked  the  sides  of  the  naked 
Sepoys  with  sharp  bayonets,  then  chained  them  alive  to  the 
muzzles  of  their  guns,  and  blew  their  bodies  to  bleeding  rags, 
high-flying  in  the  air!  Eavaillac's  limbs  were  torn  apart  by 
horses  hitched  to  each.  Napoleon,  at  Jaffa,  blew  out  of  life,  at 
the  cannon's  mouth,  4,000  i^risoners,  of  whom  he  was  "  unable, 
otherwise,  conveniently  to  dispose!"  The  Puritans  offered 
ten  dollars  apiece  for  scalps.  The  sons  of  the  Puritans  carried 
the  Queen  of  Pocasset's  head  on  a  i^ole,  set  on  fire  500  wig- 
wams at  once,  burned  alive  200  men,  women,  and  children, 
shot  600  as  they  rushed  from  the  flames,  and  sold  200  to 
slavery  forever!  The  Massachusetts  Government  paid  500 
pounds  sterling  for  every  Indian  scalp.  Hannah  Dustin,  with 
her  nurse  and  boy,  scalped  ten  Indians  on  an  island  in  the  Mer- 


296  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

rimac.  The  United  States  paid  the  Sioux  a  reward  for  every 
Fox  and  Sac  scalp  taken.  What  Indian's  wigwam  has  not  the 
white  man's  passion  violated  ?  What  solemn  treaty  has  not 
the  white  man's  perfidy  evaded  ?  What  cruelty  and  immor- 
ality has  not  the  white  man's  cupidity  committed,  under  the 
Machiavellian  creed  of  "public  necessity,"  "state  policy," 
the  barnyard  ethics  expressed  in  the  "  will  of  the  strongest," 
the  juristic  morality  of  Hobbes'  "Leviathan,"  Paley's  "Ex- 
pediency," and  the  modern  Darwinian  doctrine  of  the  "prog- 
ress of  the  race"  and  the  "fittest  to  survive?"  It  is  the 
gospel  of  the  whale  for  the  minnow,  the  tender  grace  of  the 
lion  for  the  lamb.  And,  all  the  while,  charging  ' '  inhumanity ' ' 
upon  the  weak,  the  comparatively  harmless  and  unoffending! 
It  is  the  cancer  accusing  the  gumboil,  the  typhoid  arraigning 
the  scarlet  fever,  the  jumping  tooth-ache  raving  at  the  toe-corn. 
The  scaffold  of  poor  "Lo,"  whose  "untutored  mind  "  yet  re- 
tained some  sense  of  natural  right  to  life,  liberty,  and  happi- 
ness, has  been  erected,  and  his  sandbank  grave  has  been  dug, 
but  there  are  denizens  of  modern  Bethsaidas,  and  Christian 
Capernaums  full  of  divine  instruction,  white  men  of  "culture  " 
and  "civilization,"  in  comparison  with  whom  poor  "Lo," 
devoid  of  all  this,  and  ranged  with  Nineveh  and  Tyre,  or  even 
Sodom  itself,  wall  enjoy  a  milder  doom  in  the  judgment  to 
come!  The  slave  Terence  could  say,  and  bring  down  the  ap- 
plauses of  the  theatre,  ' '  I  am  a  man  and  care  for  all  inanMndl ' '  ^ 
The  Indian's  nature  is  not  different  from  that  of  the  white 
man.  All  the  possibilities  of  the  one  are  in  the  other.  The 
noble  qualities  of  a  Massasoit,  Uncas,  and  Miantonomah,  of  a 
Pocahontas,  Little  Paul,  and  Other-Day,  are  not  mere  fiction, 
and,  so  far  as  vice  and  cruelty  are  concerned,  a  King  Philip 
and  a  Cut  Nose  are  not  merely  equaled  by  a  Claverhouse,  a 
Duke  of  Alva,  and  a  Borgia,  but  surpassed  by  citizens  of  a 
great  so-called  Christian  nation,  to  find  the  seed  for  which 
five  nations  of  the  Old  World  were  sifted  by  persecution,  and 
passed  through  the  fire!^ 

As  already  mentioned,  in  the  telegram  of  General-in-Chief 
Halleck  to  Major  General  Pope,  the  president  had  conferred 
the  rank  of  "Brigadier  General,  United  States  Volunteers," 
upon  Colonel  Sibley,  September  29,  1862.  It  was  a  national 
recognition  of  his  "meritorious  services  in  fighting  and  de- 

1  "Homo  sum,  nihil  humani  a  me  alifnmn  jnito!" 

2  The  EngliHli,  Iritth,  Scotch,  Dutch,  and  Huguenots. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  297 

feating  the  Sioux  Indians  on  the  Yellow  Medicine  river,"  a 
mark  of  honor  which  came  upon  him  unsought  and  unex- 
pectedly, while  in  the  field,  and  a  merited  compliment  to  his 
executive  ability.  The  official  notification  of  this  military 
degree  was  received  by  Colonel  Sibley  at  Camp  Eelease,  Octo- 
ber 14,  1862,  two  weeks  after  Halleck's  telegram  to  Pope  and 
Colonel  Sibley's  organization  of  the  military  commission  to 
try  the  Indians,  both  events  being  on  the  same  day,  Septem- 
ber 29th,  and  three  weeks  after  the  battle  of  Wood  Lake. 
The  acceptance  of  the  honor  and  the  oath  of  office  were  for- 
warded to  the  war  department  at  "Washington,  October  15, 
1862,  as  follows: 

War  Department, 
Washington,  September  29,  1862. 

Sir:  You  are  hereby  iaformed  that  the  president  of  the  United  States 
has  appointed  you,  for  meritorious  services  in  fighting  and  defeating  the 
Sioux  Indians  on  the  Yellow  Medicine  river,  a  brigadier  general  of  volun- 
teers, in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  to  rank  as  such  from  the  twenty- 
ninth  day  of  September,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-two.  Should 
the  senate,  at  their  next  session,  advise  and  consent  thereto,  you  will  be 
commissioned  accordingly. 

Immediately  on  receipt  hereof,  please  to  communicate  to  this  depart- 
ment, through  the  adjutant  general  of  the  army,  your  acceptance  or  non- 
acceptance;  and,  with  your  letter  of  acceptance,  return  the  oath  herewith 
inclosed,  properly  filled  up,  subscribed  and  attested,  and  report  your  age, 
birthplace,  and  the  state  of  which  you  were  a.  permanent  resident. 

You  will  report  for  duty  to  Major  General  Pope,  St.  Paul. 

Edwin  M.  Stanton, 
■*  Secretary  of  War. 

Brigadier  General  Henry  H.  Sibley. 

Congress,  having  reduced  the  number  of  brigadier  gener- 
als, it  seemed  almost  certain  that  General  Sibley's  appoint- 
ment would  fail  of  confirmation  by  the  senate.  The  people  of 
the  state,  however,  without  distinction  of  party,  were  deter- 
mined that  no  forced  action  of  the  senate,  reducing  the  number 
of  generals,  nor  any  cunning  nor  "essential  rascality"  of  cer- 
tain persons,  nor  "corrupt  necessities  of  the  officials  of  the 
Indian  department  in  Minnesota,"  ^  who  had  reason  to  remem- 
ber General  Sibley,  should  defeat  the  confirmation.  The  state 
government  interposed  at  once,  the  legislature  of  Minnesota 
passing  the  following  ^^joint  resolution,^ ^  March  5,  1863: 


1  Pioneer,  March  23, 1863. 


298  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

JOINT  EESOLUTION   EELATIVE  TO  THE  CONFIRMATION  OF  H.  H.  SIBLEY  AS 
BRIGADIER  GENERAL  OF  VOLUNTEERS. 


Whereas,  We  learn  with  regret  that  the  limitation  placed  by  Con- 
gress on  the  number  of  general  officers  authorized  to  be  appointed  for  the 
volunteer  forces,  is  likely  to  prevent  the  confirmation  of  Brigadier  General 
Sibley;  and 

Whereas,  The  good  results  attending  the  conduct  of  the  campaign 
against  the  Sioux  Indians  last  fall  —  the  safe  deliverance  of  the  white  cap- 
tives— the  surrender  of  so  large  a  number  of  Indians  —  the  protection  as- 
sured to  the  frontier;  all  at  so  small  a  loss  of  life  in  the  military  operations, 
entitled  General  Sibley  to  the  promotion  so  promptly  bestowed  after  the 
victory  of  Wood  Lake,  and  indicate  his  peculiar  fitness  for  the  command  of 
the  approaching  campaign  against  the  Sioux;  and 

Whereas,  The  failure  of  General  Sibley's  confirmation  would  now 
occasion  the  entire  loss  of  his  services  to  the  public  and  the  state  (inasmuch 
as  he  holds  no  other  commission  than  that  heretofore  tendered  by  the  presi- 
dent), and  would  be  regarded  by  the  troops  under  his  command,  and  the 
people  of  the  state  generally,  as  a  public  misfortune,  therefore 

Resolved  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Minnesota: 

That  we  respectfully  and  urgently  ask  the  president  to  appoint  Briga- 
dier General  H.  H.  Sibley,  a  brigadier  general  of  volunteers,  and  to  assign 
him  to  the  command  of  the  district  of  Minnesota,  for  the  approaching  cam- 
paign against  the  Sioux  Indians. 

Charles  D.  Sherwood, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Bepresent^tives. 
Ignatius  Donnelly, 

President  of  the  Senate. 
Approved,  March  fifth,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty -three. 

Alex.  Ramsey. 

State  of  Minnesota, 
Office  of  the  Secretary  of  State. 

St.  Paul,  Jan.  4,  1863. 
I  certify  the  foregoing  to  be  a  true  copy  of  the  original  on  file  in  this 
office. 

D.  Blakely, 
[seal.  ]  Secretary  of  State. 

This  ^ [joint  rcHoluUon^''  was  at  once  officially  communicated 
from  the  state  capitol  to  General  Sibley: 

State  of  Minnesota, 
Office  of  the  Secretary  of  State, 
St.  Paul,  Jan.  5,  1863. 
My  Dkar  Genkkal:     I  anticipated  your  re(iuest  some  little  time  since 
—  having  had  copies  of  tlie  resolution  in  (juestion  printed  and  forwarded  to 
each  of  our  members  at  the  opening  of  tlie  i)resent  session  of  Congress. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  299 

Allow  me  to  express  the  hope,  in  addition,  that  your  confirmation  aa 
brigadier  general,  and  promotion  to  a  still  higher  rank,  may  be  among  the 
earliest  coming  events. 

I  inclose  a  copy  of  the  resolution  as  forwarded  to  Washington. 

Very  Truly  and  Kespectfully  Yours, 

D.  Blakely. 
To  Brigadier  General  H.  H.  Sibley,  Commanding  District  of  3finnesota. 

The  United  States  Senate  not  yet  having  confirmed  the 
appointment,  and  the  people  of  Minnesota,  fearing  that  the 
withdrawal  from  the  service  of  a  man  to  whom,  already,  the 
state  was  so  much  indebted,  would  be  a  fatal  check  to  the  gen- 
eral welfare,  the  success  of  military  operations  in  the  depart- 
ment, and  to  the  business  interests  of  the  state,  presented  to 
General  Sibley  the  following  apj^eal,  signed  by  more  than  fifty 
of  the  leading  business  firms  of  the  city  of  St.  Paul: 

St.  Paul,  March  19,  1863. 
To  General  H.  H.  Sibley: 

Dear  Sir:  The  undersigned  beg  leave  to  express  their  disappoiat- 
ment  and  regret  at  the  failure  of  the  senate  to  confirm  your  nomination  as 
brigadier  general.  But  feeling  confident  of  your  reappointment,  we  respect- 
fully urge  that  the  general  welfore,  and  immediate  business  interests  of  the 
state  at  large,  demand  your  acceptance,  should  the  president  tender  it. 

In  this  we  are  satisfied  that  we  express  the  views  of  all  classes  of  our 
people. 

At  this  most  critical  period,  we  should  deem  your  retirement  from  the 
field  a  calamity  which  would  certainly  weaken,  and  possibly  destroy,  public 
confidence,  now  so  happily  restored  in  the  border  counties  under  your  able 
military  administration. 

Believing  that  the  welfare  of  the  people  of  3Iinnesota  will  outweigh  all 
other  considerations,  and  overcome  any  personal  scruples  which  might 
otherwise  prompt  you  to  decline  a  reappointment,  and  assuring  you  of  our 
confidence  and  esteem  we  subscribe  ourselves. 

To  this  testimonial  of  esteem  General  Sibley  returned  the 
following  reply: 

St.  Paul,  March  23,  1863. 

Gentlemen:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the 
document  signed  by  so  many  of  the  leading  men  and  firms  in  this  city,  in 
which  you  urge  me  not  to  decline  a  renomination  of  brigadier  general,  if 
tendered,  as  you  do  not  doubt  it  will  be.  Since  that  was  written,  a  tele- 
graphic dispatch  from  the  secretary  of  war  has  reached  me,  announcing  my 
reappointment  by  the  president,  so  that  your  prognostications  have  proved 
to  be  correct. 

While  I  feel  duly  grateful  for  the  confidence  manifested  by  you  in  my 
management  of  military  affairs  in  this  district,  and  for  the  kind  expressions 
of  regard  for  myself  personally,  it  is  nevertheless  true,  that  I  rather  dreaded 


300  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

than  desired  to  be  placed  in  a  position,  by  the  act  of  the  president,  where  I 
must  promptly  accept  or  decline  the  honorable  station  to  which  he  has  so 
repeatedly  nominated  me.  It  has  been  neither  by  my  suggestion,  nor  at  my 
solicitation,  that  I  was  originally  named  for  the  post,  nor  have  I  since  made 
any  effort  to  retain  it,  or  to  secure  a  confirmation  by  the  senate.  Indeed 
the  deranged  state  of  my  private  affairs,  which  have  been  almost  totally 
neglected  for  many  months,  apart  from  any  other  consideration,  afforded  a 
very  strong  reason  against  my  remaining  longer  in  the  service. 

On  the  other  hand,  I  recognize  the  right  of  the  country  to  its  full  ex- 
tent, to  call  upon  any  one  of  its  citizens  to  perform  a  public  duty,  at  what- 
ever sacrifice  to  himself,  and  while  I  feel  too  much  diffidence  in  my  own 
abilities,  to  venture  to  hope  that  I  can  meet  the  wishes  or  expectations  of 
my  friends,  in  a  career  comparatively  so  new  to  me,  I  cannot  disregard  the 
general  sentiment  of  my  state,  as  signified  by  the  unanimous  resolutions  of 
the  legislature  asking  for  my  confirmation,  and  by  the  representations  of 
numerous  private  citizens.  I  shall,  therefore,  dispatch  to  the  military  au- 
thorities at  Washington,  my  respectful  acceptance  of  the  position  to  which 
the  president  has  generously  seen  fit  to  re-assign  me. 

It  would  not  be  proper  for  me  to  make  known  the  plans  of  the  con- 
templated campaign  against  the  hostile  Sioux.  But  I  can  state,  without  any 
impropriety,  that  the  major  general  commanding  the  department  has  given 
me  the  most  cheering  assurances  of  support  in  their  prosecution,  and  mani- 
fests a  determination  to  bring  this  war  with  the  savages  to  a  speedy  conclu- 
sion, by  the  employment  of  all  the  means  at  his  disposal. 

The  proposed  expedition  will  be  a  tedious  and  laborious  one  to  all  con- 
nected with  it,  but  with  the  aid  of  the  gallant  regiments  tinder  my  com- 
mand, composed  of  our  own  citizens,  all  of  whom,  officers  and  soldiers  alike, 
are  anxious  to  take  the  field,  I  humbly  trust  that  enough  will  be  accom- 
plished during  the  coming  season,  to  insure  the  frontier  against  any  danger 
from  Indian  forays  hereafter,  and  to  relieve  entirely  the  apprehensions  of 
our  citizens. 

I  am  gentlemen,  most  respectfully, 

Your  Friend  and  Fellow  Citizen, 

H.  H.  Sibley. 
To  Messrs.  Thompson,  Brother  &  Co.,  Charles  Schaffer,  John  S.  Prince,  etc.,  etc., 

etc.,  St.  Paul,  Minnesota. 

Friday,  March  20,  1863,  President  Lincoln  renominated 
General  Sibley  for  the  military  rank  and  position  which  prac- 
tically he  had  more  than  filled  with  such  marked  success 
since  his  appointment  as  colonel  by  Governor  Ramsey.  From 
the  first  moment  to  the  last,  he  had  exercised  all  the  powers  and 
wielded  the  command  of  a  general  officer.  The  honor,  twice 
conferred  upon  him,  wjis  deem(Hl  an  inadequate  expression  of 
what  was  due  under  the  circumstances,  the  president  himself 
desiring  to  promote  him  to  the  more  eminent  distinction  of 
major  general,  but  was  prevented  from  so  doing  by  the  forced 
reduction  of  the  list  of  generals,  through  the  senate's  action. 


HON.  HENEY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  301 

Under  date  of  March  23,  1863,  the  Pioneer  of  St.  Paul  gave 
expression  to  the  feeling  of  the  state  in  this  matter,  and  pre- 
sented the  actual  situation,  in  the  following  terms: 

GENERAL  SIBLEY  RENOMINATED   AS   BRIGADIER  GENERAL. 

We  are  gratified  to  announce  that,  on  Friday  last,  the  president  re- 
nominated General  Sibley  to  the  position  which  he  has  filled  with  distin- 
guished honor  during  the  period  of  our  frontier  difficulties. 

This  could  hardly  have  been  otherwise.  His  appointment  as  briga- 
dier was  conferred  on  him  unsought  and  unexpectedly,  while  he  was  on 
service  in  the  Indian  country,  and  in  compliment  to  the  military  abilities 
which  he  had  there  displayed. 

Returning  from  the  field,  at  the  close  of  the  fall  campaign,  his  ad- 
ministration of  affairs  in  the  district  of  Minnesota  has  been  marked  by  such 
practical  good  judgment,  energy  and  economy,  as  to  call  forth  the  commen- 
dations of  the  heads  of  the  several  military  bureaus  with  which  he  has  had 
connection,  and  to  induce  the  president,  unsuggested  by  any  consideration 
except  his  own  merit,  to  send  his  name  to  the  senate  for  confirmation  as  a 
major  general. 

The  forced  reduction  of  the  list  of  generals,  under  the  action  of  the 
senate,  compelled  the  president  to  change  General  Sibley's  nomination  to 

that  of  a  brigadier;  and  the  essential  rascality  of and  the  corrupt 

necessities  of  the  officials  of  the  Indian  department  in  this  state,  unjustly 
and  unfortunately  prevented  his  confirmation. 

We  regret  to  learn  that  there  are  doubts  as  to  General  Sibley's  accept- 
ance of  this  renomination.  We  trust  these  doubts  are  unfounded.  The 
people  of  the  state,  without  distinction  of  party,  or  regard  to  locality,  de- 
sire his  continuance  in    command.     It  is  only  those,  headed  by , 

who  wish  to  make  corrupt  gains  by  swindling  the  government  and  specu- 
lating upon  the  distresses  of  the  people,  that  desire  him  to  beoverslaughed. 

Our  citizens  have  given  General  Sibley  every  possible  exhibition  of 
their  confidence,  and  this  confidence  has  been  most  handsomely  and  per- 
fectly seconded  and  indorsed  by  the  president  in  his  renomination.  He  will 
be  sure,  therefore,  of  the  hearty  support  of  both  government  and  people  in 
the  performance  of  his  duties;  and  this  is  all  any  officer  can  expect  or  should 
desire. 

His  declination  will  afford  satisfaction  only  to and  the  swind- 
ling crew  who  are  leagued  with  him ;  and  it  is  not  in  the  line  of  his  duty, 
and  should  not  be  in  the  line  of  his  pleasure,  to  square  his  actions  to  their 
interests.  On  the  contrary,  as  they  desired  his  displacement  to  further  their 
corrupt  designs  against  the  government  and  our  people,  he  owes  it  to  both, 
as  well  as  to  himself,  to  retain  his  command  and  prevent  their  accom- 
plishment. 

In  obedience  to  the  unanimous  wish  everywhere,  General 
Sibley  accepted  the  renomination  tendered  by  the  president, 
and  prepared  for  the  organization  of  the  second  military  ex- 
pedition against  the  Sioux. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

GENERAL  SIBLEY'S  SECOND  MILITARY  EXPEDITION  AGAINST  THE  SIOUX. — 
PLAN  OF  CAMPAIGN. — GENERAL  SULLY  CO-OPERATING. — THE  ADVANCE 
FROM  CAMP  POPE,  JUNE  16,  1863. — DETRACTION  POWERLESS.  —  THE 
ROUTE.  —  CHEYENNE  RIVER. — COMMUNICATION  OPENED  WITH  THE 
HALF-BREEDS  AT  CAMP  DOUGLAS. — NEWS. — CAMP  ATCHISON.— JULY20, 
1863. — COUNCIL  OF  WAR. — FORCED  MARCH  IN  PURSUIT  TOWARD  THE 
MISSOURI  RIVER,  OR  TOWARD  DEVIL'S  LAKE. — OVERTAKES  THE  INDIANS 
IN  FORCE.  —  THREE  DECISH^E  BATTLES. — BATTLE  OF  BIG  MOUND, 
JULY  24;  OF  DEAD  BUFFALO  LAKE,  JULY  26;  OF  STONY  LAKE,  JULY 
28,  1863.  —  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  BATTLES.  —  THE  INDIAN  FORCE. — 
THEIR  SPLENDID  SEMICIRCLE  AND  ADVANCE.  —  THE  YOUNG  TETON. — 
STAMPEDE  OF  THE  INDIANS  TOWARD  THE  MISSOURI  RIVER. —  PUR- 
SUIT.—  GENERAL  SULLY  FAILS  TO  INTERCEPT.  —  THE  INDIANS  CROSS 
THE  MISSOURI  JULY  29tH. —  "  SIOUX  CROSSING."  —  "siBLEY  ISLAND." 
—  SHELLING  THE  WOODS. —  IMPOSSIBLE  TO  PURSUE  FARTHER. — PRAI- 
RIE ON  FIRE. — SIOUX  WAGONS  AND  PROPERTY  DESTROYED.  —  LOSS 
OF  LIEUTENANT  BEEVER.  —  CAMP  BRADEN.  —  GENERAL  ORDER. — 
HOMEWARD  MARCH,  AUGUST  1,  1863. —  REASON  OF  GENERAL  SULLY'S 
DETENTION.  —  GENERAL  SIBLEY'S  EXPEDITION  A  GREAT  SUCCESS. — 
UNPAJIALLELED  IN  INDIAN  WARFARE. — CARE  OF  HIS  TROOPS. — LOSSES 
INFLICTED  ON  THE  ENEMY.  —  IMPORTANCE  OF  GENERAL  SIBLEY'S 
SUCCESS  TO  THE  WHOLE  COUNTRY.  —  ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  SOUTHERN 
REBELLION.  —  THE  NATIONAL  CRISIS. — ATTITUDE  OF  ENGLAND. — 
FOREIGN  POWERS. — CROSSING  THE  MISSOURI. — CROSSING  THE  POTO- 
MAC.—  PUBLIC  OPINION  IN  REFERENCE  TO  GENERAL  SIBLEY'S  CAM- 
PAIGNS.—  EULOGIES  FROM  MILITARY  OFFICERS.  —  HON.  E.  M.  STAN- 
TON.—  THE  LEGISLATURE. —  MAJOR  GENERAL  POPE. — CHARLES  SUM- 
NER. —  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN.  —  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON.  —  BREVETTED 
MAJOR  GENERAL,  UNITED  STATES  ARMY,  "FOR  EFFICIENT  AND  MERI- 
TORIOUS SERVICES." — DOMESTIC  GRIEF  AND  AFFLICTION  WHILE  IN 
THE  FIELD  SERVING  THE  STATE. — NOTES  FROM  HIS  DIARY. — KEEPS 
THE  SABBATH,  STRICTLY,  DURING  THE  CAMPAIGN. — INCONSOLA- 
BLE SORROW. —  DREAMS  IN  THE  TENT. —  ANXIETY  ABOUT  HIS  COUN- 
TRY.—  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  MARCH  HOMEWARD.  —  ARRIVES  AT  ST. 
PAUL  SEPTEMBER,  8,  1863. —  MARVELOUS  FACTS. —  MORAL  EFFECT 
UPON  THE  INDIANS.  —  SIBLEY  IN  CONGRE.SS  AND  SIBLEY  ON  THE 
BATTLE-FIELD.  —  EXAMPLE  TO  MINNESOTA.  —  PROGRESS  AND  CIVILIZA- 
TION.—  CONCLUDING  REFLECTIONS.  —  SKETCH  OF  LITTLE  CROW. —  HIS 
FATE. 

General  Sibley's  military  career  was  not  yet  closed.  The 
lack  of  a  HufTiciont  cavalry  force  to  pursue  the  retreating  In- 
dians in  the  fall  of  18()2,  rendered  necessary  a  second  military 
expedit  ion  in  18(}3.    Notwithstanding  the  successful  campaign 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  303 

of  the  previous  year,  various  predatory  bands  of  savages 
still  disturbed  the  tranquillity  of  the  frontier  settlements  of 
Minnesota,  renewing  their  depredations  and  committing  their 
deeds  of  murder  and  violence,  as  before.  Roving  and  starved, 
deprived  of  their  lands  and  their  game,  and  nursing  their 
wrath,  their  nomadic  life  could  only  be  one  of  revenge  and 
rej)risal.  Their  general  camp  was  now  believed  to  be  at  or 
near  Minnewaukan  or  Devil's  lake,  in  North  Dakota,  a  large 
sheet  of  brackish  water,  forty  miles  long,  twelve  wide,  and 
distant  five  hundred  miles  from  St.  Paul.  Here,  Little  Crow 
fled,  after  the  battle  of  Wood  Lake,  and  joining  to  the  rem- 
nant of  his  own  force  2,000  of  the  Upper  Minnesota  Sioux, 
augmented  by  portions  of  other  tribes,  the  whole  amounting 
to  nearly  4,000  warriors,  resolved  on  a  general  war.  For  the 
more  effectual  security  of  the  frontier,  and  further  to  punish 
the  Indian  hordes,  the  second  military  expedition  was  organ- 
ized by  General  Sibley,  pursuant  to  the  order  of  Major  General 
Pope,  commanding  the  military  department  of  the  Northwest. 
The  plan  of  campaign  was  simple.  To  General  Sibley,  start- 
ing from  Camp  Pope  at  the  mouth  of  the  Redwood,  was  giyeu 
the  main  force,  whose  duty  it  was  to  move  up  the  Minnesota 
river,  and,  crossing  the  plains,  drive  the  Sioux  before  hira. 
To  General  Sully,  starting  from  Sioux  City,  was  given  3,000 
men,  mounted,  ^  and  whose  duty  it  was  to  move  up  the  east 
bank  of  the  Missouri  river  in  order  to  cut  off  any  retreat  of 
the  Indians  to  the  west  side.  The  objective  point  of  both 
commands  was  Devil's  lake,  where  it  was  hoped  that  the 
Indians,  driven  by  both  converging  columns,  would  be  com- 
pelled to  fight,  and  suffer  a  final  defeat,  and  so  the  State  of 
Minnesota  and  part  of  Dakota  be  forever  freed  from  their 
savage  incursions.  To  each  general  a  special  mission  was 
intrusted,  the  one  depending  for  his  supplies  upon  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Missouri  river,  the  other  upon  his  military  train. 
Leaving  St.  Paul,  June  6,  1863,  General  Sibley  arrived  at 
Camp  Pope,  twenty-five  miles  beyond  Fort  Ridgley,  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant  from  St.  Paul,  June  7th,  where 
the  troops  were  ordered  to  report,  and  was  welcomed  with  a 
grand  military  reception.  As  the  Indian  combination  was 
the  most  formidable  ever  known  in  American  history,  the 

1  Bryant's  statement,  Indian  Massacre,  p.  491,  that  Sibley  and  Sully  had  each  3,000 
troops,  1,000  cavalry  in  Sibley's  command,  and  chiefly  cavalry  in  Sully's  command,  is 
erroneous.  Sully's  force  was  3,000  men,  all  cavalry.  Sibley's  force  was  3,000  infantry  and 
860  cavalry. 


304  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

force  employed  to  resist  it  was  appropriately  large.  ^  Apart 
from  General  Sully's  3,000  troops,  the  troops  assigned  to  Gen- 
eral Sibley,  as  commander  of  the  expedition,  amounted  to 
nearly  4,000  effective  men;  namely,  one  comj)auy  pioneers 
Ninth  regiment,  Captain  Chase;  ten  companies  Sixth  regi- 
ment. Colonel  Crooks;  eight  companies  Tenth  regiment,  Col- 
onel Baker;  nine  companies  Seventh  regiment,  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Marshall;  eight  pieces  of  artillery.  Captain  Jones; 
nine  companies  of  Minnesota  Mounted  Eangers,  Colonel  Mc- 
Phail;  besides  seventy  volunteer  Indian  scouts  under  Majors 
Brown,  McLeod,  and  Dooley;  in  all,  3,052  infantry,  800  cav- 
alry, 148  artillery,  with  a  train  of  225  six-mule  teams  for 
commissary  stores,  camp  equipage,  and  ordnance,  the  whole 
force  and  train,  when  in  motion,  five  miles  long.  ^  The  staff 
of  General  Sibley  were  Adjutant  General  Olin,  Brigade  Com- 
missary Forbes,  Assistant  Commissary  and  Ordnance  Officer 
Atchinson,  Clerk  of  Commissary  Spencer,  Quartermaster  Corn- 
ing, Assistant  Quartermaster  Kimball,  besides  First  Lieuten- 
ant Pope,  with  First  Lieutenant  Beever  subsequently  added, 
and  Second  Lieutenants  Flandrau  and  Hawthorne,  acting  as 
aids- de- camp.  To  these  the  Eev.  S.  R.  Eiggs  was  joined  as 
chaplain  of  the  staff. 

All  things  ready,  the  order  to  move  was  issued,  June  16, 
1863,  "thermometer  one  hundred  degrees  in  the  tent."  As, 
during  the  former  campaign,  so  once  again,  the  tongue  of 
detraction  was  busy.  It  was  not  enough  that  a  skillful  com- 
mander, successful  beyond  precedent  in  Indian  affairs,  should 
devote  ''sixteen  hours  a  day,"  with  sleepless  nights,  to  the 
task  of  standing  between  the  state  and  its  destruction,  or  be 
called  to  confront  a  foe,  numbering,  at  this  moment,  4,000 
lodges,  30,000  inmates,  and  6,000  warriors,  whose  territorial 
area  was  200,000  square  miles,  from  the  Eed  Eiver  of  the  North 

1  He  who  moTes  without  an  adequate  force  to  meet  the  enemy  is  justly  chargeable,  in  case 
of  defeat,  with  the  sacrifice,  in  vain,  of  the  lives  of  his  men.  Battles  are  not  to  be  fought 
for  the  sake  of  fighting,  and  success  must  at  least  be  reasonably  certain  before  an  engage, 
nient  is  sought.  An  advance  and  action  are  only  justified  "  when  some  serious  disadvantage 
is  bound  to  result  from  failure  to  fight,  or  when  the  advantage  of  a  possVile  victory  far  trans- 
cends the  consequence  of  a  prohah/i:  defeat."  An  enemy's  mode  of  warfare  is  always  an 
object  of  lirst  consideration,  and  with  it  the  issues  sought  to  be  attained.  "  War  has  a  higher 
end  than  mere  bloodshed,  and  military  history  points,  for  study  and  commendation,  to  cam- 
fiaigns  which  have  been  conducted  over  a  large  field  of  operations  with  iiiijiortant  results 
and  without  a  single  general  engagement.  The  commander  merits  condemnation  who,  from 
ambition,  ignorance,  or  a  weak  suluuission  to  the  dictation  of  pojiular  clamor,  has  squandered 
the  lives  of  his  soldiers. —  Ollicial  Records  of  Union  and  Confederate  Armies,  Vol.  XVI,  p. 57, 

2  "  In  all,  about  ;j,200  infantry  and  artillery,  and  about  70  scouts  and  22r>  teams."  —  Diary 
of  Oeneral  Hlbley,  p.  3. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  305 

to  the  Black  Hills,  and  from  the  forks  of  the  Platte  to  Devil's 
lake.  A  fire  must  be  kindled  in  his  rear.  The  occurrence  of 
every  Indian  outrage,  no  matter  how  distant  from  General 
Sibley's  camp,  or  line  of  march,  was  instantly  ascribed  to  his 
inaction,  and  insane  charges  of  incompetence,  delay,  and  ir- 
resolution were  showered  upon  him  as  fast  as  certain  writers 
could  invent  and  empty  them.  ^  Disappointed  ambition,  envy, 
jealousy,  retaliation  for  defeated  schemes  devised  for  personal 
emolument,  insinuations  of  disloyalty,  and  political  and  par- 
tisan asperity,  all  did  their  best  to  injure  and  disparage.  It 
was  no  new  experience.  It  had  been  tried  the  year  before. 
In  the  midst  of  the  Civil  War,  a  Democratic  military  officer, 
who  failed  to  work  miracles  and  do  impossibilities,  fared  ill  at 
the  hands  of  his  Eepublican  opponents,  no  matter  how  loyally 
he  stood  to  his  flag,  while  yet  he  refused  to  surrender  his  Dem- 
ocratic principles.  If  a  Hancock,  Sickles,  Logan,  and  others, 
could  not  evade  the  shafts  of  calumny  aimed  at  their  names, 
lest  their  deeds  should  win  for  them  a  generous  remembrance 
in  days  to  come,  General  Sibley  could  as  little  expect  immu- 
nity from  similar  injustice.  Still  more.  In  a  free  country  like 
America,  where  every  man  is  at  liberty  to  account  himself  a 
commander,  the  successors  of  "the  goose  who  gabbled  to 
Hannibal  how  a  campaign  should  be  conducted,  and  a  battle 
fought,"  could  not  fail  to  be  as  numerous  as  they  were  conspic- 
uous. It  was  easy,  moreover,  to  croak  and  find  fault  with  Gen- 
eral Sibley,  marching  twice  as  rapidly  as  General  Sully,  ther- 
mometer standing  at  94°,  100°,  104°,  108°  and  111°,  in  the 
shade,  and  ridicule  his  movement  as  that  of  a  "terrific  Brob- 
dingnag"  chasing  with  slow  motion,  and  seeking  "to  crush  the 
Sioux  Lilliput  under  the  ponderous  heel  of  strategy!"^ — but  it 
was  not  quite  so  easy  to  take  the  place  of  Halleck  and  Stanton, 
Pope  and  Sibley,  Malmros  and  Ramsey,  and  "extirpate,"  even 

1  No  accusations  could  be  more  unjust.  So  far  as  the  frontier  was  concerned,  Colonel 
Miller  of  the  Seventh  regiment  was  assigned  by  General  Sibley  to  the  duty  of  guarding  the 
same,  during  the  absence  of  General  Sibley.  In  Colonel  Miller's  command  were  part  of  the 
Seventh  regiment,  two  companies  of  the  Tenth,  nine  companies  of  the  Ninth,  the  whole  of 
the  Eighth  regiment,  one  company  of  mounted  rangers,  and  such  other  troops  as  could  be 
spared.  These  were  spread  along  the  line  of  the  frontier  to  secure  the  settlers,  as  far  as  was 
possible,  from  any  outrages  and  depredations  by  roving  parties  of  Indians.  A  network  of 
fortifications  existed  along  the  whole  frontier  garrisoned  by  2,000  soldiers.  The  inherent 
defects  of  a  regular  military  organization,  for  which  General  Sibley  could  not  be  held  re- 
sponsible, were, moreover,  sought  to  be  remedied  by  a  corps  of  independent  scouts,  organized 
by  order  of  the  adjutant  general,  to  operate  wherever  they  might,  without  regard  to  the 
regular  service.  Everything  that  could  be  done  was  done  to  meet  the  peculiar  modes  of  In- 
dian warfare,  and  protect  the  people  of  Minnesota. 

2  Quoted  from  the  St.  Paul  Press,  and  repelled  in  Heard's  Hist.  Sioux  War,  p.  306. 

20 


306  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

with  the  "fine-tooth  comb  of  irregular  scouts"  scratching  the 
forest  everywhere,  those  skipping  Scythians  of  the  hairy 
woods,  of  whom  what  Caesar  said  of  their  ancient  prototypes 
was  only  too  true,  ^^difficilms  invenire  quam  interflcere,^^  —  "it 
is  harder  to  catch  than  it  is  to  kill  them!"  It  made  no  dif- 
ference. In  those  days,  when  North  and  South  were  in  con- 
flict, a  Democrat  was,  by  thousands  of  stalwart  Eepublicans, 
christened,  ipso  facto,  a  "wool- dyed  rebel,"  whose  salvation 
either  in  this  or  another  world  was  regarded  as  wholly  beyond 
the  power  of  God! 

Happily  for  General  Sibley,  intrenched  so  firmly  in  the 
confidence  of  the  state,  these  shafts  fell  pointless  and  power- 
less at  his  feet.  Forward  the  expedition  went,  marching  from 
camp  to  camp,  the  column  and  train  advancing  under  a  broil- 
ing sun;  cavalry,  infantry,  and  artillery;  scouting,  explor- 
ing, skirmishing,  and  returning;  their  military  route  passing 
through  solitudes,  sandhills  and  bluffs,  coolies  and  coteaux, 
timbered  or  bare;  streams  stagnant  and  covered  with  scum; 
ridges  loaded  with  boulders;  prairies  blasted  by  fire  which 
the  Indians  had  kindled  to  hinder  the  march;  lightning,  thun- 
der, and  rain;  ground  broken  and  rocky;  grasshoppers  thick 
as  the  locusts  of  Egypt  and  filling  the  air  like  snowflakes; 
huge  flies  obedient  to  Beelzebub,  and,  by  the  billion,  drawing 
the  blood  from  mules,  horses,  and  men!  Still,  onward  they 
moved,  amid  marshes  and  mounds,  and  dust  clouds  raised  by 
the  buffalo;  wind  hot  as  the  breath  of  a  simoon,  and  flUed 
with  suffocating  smoke;  trails  rugged  and  tortuous,  made  by 
the  Indians  retreating  across  the  wildest  regions;  yet  not  with- 
out landscapes  of  valleys  and  hills,  prairies  and  plains,  splen- 
did as  Nature  could  make  them ;  westward,  northward,  upward, 
downward,  and  between,  till  the  banks  of  the  Missouri  were 
reached.  At  first,  the  Indian  retreat  was  in  the  direction  of 
the  British  line.  Made  aware,  perhaps,  by  some  of  their 
trans-Missouri  friends,  of  the  delay  of  General  Sully  by  reason 
of  low  water  in  the  river,  preventing  the  arrival  of  his  sup- 
plies, they  changed  their  line  of  retreat,  toward  the  Missouri 
river  itself,  expecting  further  reinforcements,  thus  transfer- 
ring the  Sioux  War  from  the  boundaries  of  Minnesota  to  the 
banks  of  that  stream.  Three  weeks  had  passed  away  since 
the  order  to  march  was  given  at  Camp  Pope.  July  4th,  the 
Big  I><^nd  of  the  river  Cheyenne  was  reached,  the  woods  of 
the  sand  mounds,  and  of  the  "  Chien  qui  Graite,^^  seen  on  the 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  307 

right,  and  the  hill  ^^ShonTiah-tcalikon-ehincha-tah^^  looming  in 
the  far  distance  on  the  left.  Letters  from  Abercrombie  con- 
veyed the  rnnior  that  1,000  lodges  of  Indians  were  concentra- 
ted at  Devil's  lake,  and  the  Sionx  intended  to  come  and  offer 
battle.     A  week  more  passed  by,  no  Indian  force  appearing. 

The  failure  of  the  expedition  had  already  been  predicted, 
from  the  long  drought,  the  firing  of  the  prairies,  the  excess- 
ive heat,  and  the  grasshoppers.  General  Sibley  was  deter- 
mined, however,  that,  so  far  as  his  command  was  concerned, 
there  should  be  no  failure.  Having  opened  communication,  at 
Camp  Douglas,  this  side  of  Devil's  lake,  with  some  Red  River 
Chippewa  half-breeds,  July  17th,  he  learned  the  whereabouts 
of  Standing  Buffalo,  Mahtowakkon,  Red  Plume,  and  Sweet 
Corn,  and  that  six  hundred  lodges  of  Indians  had  separated 
into  three  camps,  west  of  the  James  river,  and  were  making 
for  the  Missouri.  The  doubt  that  hung  over  this  information 
was  removed  at  Camp  Atchison,  where,  July  20th,  General 
Sibley  received  a  friendly  visit  from  three  hundred  Chipj)ewa 
half-breeds,  with  Father  Andre  their  Catholic  priest  at  their 
head,  and  whom,  addressing  in  French,  and  thanking  them 
for  their  friendly  visit,  he  dismissed  in  peace.  It  was  plain 
that,  from  the  further  information  now  obtained.  Devil's  lake 
was  no  longer  to  be  thought  of,  unless  the  entire  informa- 
tion should  prove  false.  General  Sibley  acted  promptly. 
Assembling  his  colonels  and  regimental  officers,  in  council  of 
war,  he  announced  to  them  his  purpose  to  leave  the  footsore 
and  inefficient  men  and  heavier  portion  of  the  train  in  Camp 
Atchison,  with  sufficient  gaurd,  and  hasten,  at  once,  by  forced 
marches,  to  overtake  the  retreating  foe.  The  j)roi)osition  was 
hailed  with  delight.  Immediately,  with  1,436  infantry,  520 
cavalry,  100  pioneers,  and  artillery,  25  days'  rations  loaded 
on  his  wagons,  he  started  in  pursuit,  himself  borne  in  an  am- 
bulance, owing  to  the  painful  wrenching  of  his  knee  and  hip- 
joint  caused  by  the  miring  of  his  horse.  Thoughtful  and  cau- 
tious, he  says,  "lam  bearing  farther  west  to  enable  me  to 
strike  either  toward  the  coteau  of  the  Missouri,  where  the 
Indians  are  reported  to  be,  or  Devil's  lake,  as  the  position 
of  the  Indians  may  render  necessary."  "Mail,  today,  from 
Fort  Abercrombie,  bringing  papers  to  date  of  twelfth  instant, 
in  which  are  misrepresentations  based  upon  statements  of 

and  others.     We  are  determined  to  falsify  these 

predictions  of  failure."^     July  22d  he  had  made  forty-eight 

1  General  Sibley's  Diary,  pp.  50,56. 


308  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

miles  west  of  Camp  Atchison,  aud  corraled  his  train  at  Camp 
Kimball,  having  crossed  the  James  river.  An  Indian  scout, 
sent  to  feel  after  Standing  Buffalo,  reports  that  the  Indian 
bands  were  on  the  Missouri  cotean.  "Shall  hang  him,"  says 
General  Sibley,  "if  he  has  deceived  me!"  Still  pursuing. 
General  Sibley,  July  23d,  crossed  the  second  ridge  of  the  Mis- 
souri coteau,  and,  next  day,  passed  Lake  Sibley,  "a  handsome 
sheet  of  water,  two  and  a  half  miles  from  Big  Mound,"  the 
scouts  reporting  a  large  body  of  Indians  in  the  neighborhood, 
Eed  Plume  and  Standing  Buffalo  among  them.  The  long- 
desired  moment  for  effective  action  had  at  last  come. 

The  week  commencing  July  24,  1863,  is  crowded  with  ex- 
traordinary interest.  It  presents  the  history  of  three  deci- 
sive engagements  fought  by  General  Sibley  against  the  most 
powerful  combination  of  Indian  warriors  ever  massed  together, 
at  any  one  time,  in  the  annals  of  Indian  warfare;  three  sepa- 
rate victories  over  a  total  Indian  force  2,200  to  2,500  strong, 
ending  in  routing  the  Indians  with  great  loss,  and  driving 
them,  broken  and  discomfited,  in  wild  confusion,  across  the 
Missouri  river. 

The  battle  of  Big  Mound  was  fought  Friday,  July  24,  1863. 
As  soon  as  the  news  of  the  Indian  approach  was  made  known 
by  the  scouts  to  General  Sibley,  about  1  p.  m.,  the  order  was 
given  to  corral  the  train  on  the  shore  of  a  salt  lake  near  by, 
and  throw  up  earthworks  as  a  precaution  against  sudden  at- 
tack on  the  transportation.  Parties  of  Indians  soon  appeared 
on  the  neighboring  hills,  venturing  near  a  portion  of  Gen- 
eral Sibley's  scouts,  four  hundred  yards  from  the  camp,  Eed 
Plume,  a  chief  opposed  to  the  war,  yet  in  the  Indian  camp, 
having  sent  word  to  General  Sibley  to  beware  of  a  plan  de- 
vised to  invite  him  and  his  officers  to  a  conference  with 
Standing  Buffalo  at  the  Big  Mound  and  then  treacherously 
shoot  them.  Surgeon  Weiser  of  the  First  Minnesota  Rangers 
having  incautiously  approached,  the  Indians  extending  their 
hands  in  a  friendly  way,  was  suddenly  shot  through  the  heart. 
Lieutenant  Freeman,  while  distant  with  some  scouts,  was  also 
killed.  With  the  shooting  of  Dr.  Weiser,  the  battle  was  pre- 
cipitated, tlie  savages  encircling  those  portions  of  the  camp 
not  protected  by  the  lake,  the  Big  Mound  being  situated  one 
and  one-half  miles  away  at  the  terminus  of  a  ravine  between  it 
and  the  camp.     Precisely  at  3  p.  m.,  a  thunder-storm  boom- 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  309 

ing,  the  First  battalion  of  cavalry,  Colonel  McPhail,  sup- 
ported by  two  companies  of  the  Seventh  regiment,  was  ordered 
to  advance,  and,  dividing  the  Indians,  hold  the  ground  where 
Weiser  had  fallen.  The  Sixth  regiment,  Colonel  Crooks,  with 
part  of  the  Seventh,  was  deployed  on  the  hills  on  the  right 
flank  of  the  camp,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Averill,  with  two  com- 
panies, being  deployed  on  the  left  flank.  Colonel  Marshall, 
with  five  companies  of  the  Seventh,  was  directed  to  advance 
U13  the  ravine  on  the  left  of  the  cavalry  now  dismounted  on 
account  of  the  extremely  broken  condition  of  the  ground. 
Part  of  the  Tenth  regiment.  Colonel  Baker,  was,  for  the  pres- 
ent, retained  in  care  of  the  camp.  General  Sibley,  ascending 
a  hill  with  a  six-jjounder,  supported  by  one  company  of  the 
Tenth  regiment,  under  Captain  Edgerton,  opened  fire  with 
spherical  case  shot  upon  the  Indians  in  possession  of  the  upper 
part  of  the  ravine,  and  ordered  a  general  advance  of  the 
troops.  The  Indians,  at  least  1,500  in  number,  including 
families,  retreating  before  the  destructive  volleys  of  musketry 
and  shell,  were  forced  back  over  successive  ridges,  moving 
southward  to  their  camp  five  miles  distant,  where  the  retreat 
became  a  rout  and  a  panic; — the  camp  abandoned,  their  fam- 
ilies rushing  before  them  in  wild  dismay.  Colonel  McPhail, 
supported  by  the  Seventh  regiment,  part  of  the  Tenth,  and 
Whipple's  section  of  a  battery,  closely  pursuing.  Five  suc- 
cessive charges  were  made,  in  the  midst  of  the  terrific  thunder- 
storm, the  lightning  killing  one  private,  and  loosening  the 
grasp  of  McPhail' s  hand  on  his  saber  while  engaged  with 
an  Indian.  The  loss  of  the  Indians  was  eighty  killed  and 
wounded,  twenty-one  being  scalped  in  the  last  charge.  ^  The 
trail  was  strewn  with  all  manner  of  articles,  provisions, 
clothes,  skins,  utensils,  and  furniture.  The  infantry  reached 
a  point  ten  miles,  the  cavalry  fifteen  miles,  beyond  General 
Sibley's  camp. 

Nothing  could  be  more  complete  than  this  victory,  and 
the  Indians  were  now  absolutely  in  the  power  of  General  Sib- 
ley. But,  while  man  proposes,  a  Higher  Power  disposes.  As 
the  wise  man  learned  by  experience  that  "time  and  chance 
happen  to  all,"  so  two  important  circumstances  here  contribu- 
ted to  shape  the  final  results  of  the  expedition.     One  was  the 


1  This  white  man's  barbarity  was  severely  discountenanced  by  General  Sibley.  "I  am 
ashamed,"  said  he,  "  to  say  that  all  were  scalped.  Shame  upon  such  brutality  1  God's  image 
should  not  be  thus  mutilated  or  disfigured."  —  Diary,  p.  69. 


310  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

failure  of  General  Sully  to  aj)i)ear  at  the  time  expected,  the 
other  the  misdelivery  of  au  important  order.  General  Sibley 
had  sent  his  order,  by  Lieutenant  Beever,  a  faithful  and  ac- 
complished officer,  to  Colonel  McPhail  "not  to  follow  the 
Indians  after  dark  but  ijursue  them  while  it  was  light  enough 
to  do  so,"  instructing  him  "to  bivouac  upon  the  field  if  not 
attacked,  but,  if  attacked,  or  threatened  with  a  night  attack, 
to  fall  back,  at  once,  on  his  supports,  and,  if  necessary,  return 
to  the  camp."i  q\^Q  order  was  mistakenly  delivered,  Colonel 
McPhail  understanding  it  to  be  an  order  not  to  bivouac  upon 
the  field,  but  repair  to  camp,  at  nightfall,  thus  avoiding  a 
night  attack.  Colonel  Marshall,  still  disposed  to  remain,  yet 
yielded  to  Colonel  McPhail,  the  ranking  officer,  and  cavalry, 
artillery,  and  infantry  retraced  their  steps  to  their  original 
position.  To  his  amazement,  early  next  morning  when  about 
to  advance,  the  wagons  ready  and  the  camp  broken  up.  Gen- 
eral Sibley  saw  the  pursuing  men  returning,  and  learned,  with 
deep  regret,  the  unfortunate  mistake  by  which  nearly  two 
whole  days  were  now  lost  to  the  expedition,  and  a  dearly  won 
advantage  forfeited.  A  day's  rest  must  now  be  taken,  and  the 
next  day  be  wellnigh  consumed  in  regaining  the  i^oint  reached 
the  night  previous.  The  cavalry,  artillery,  and  infantry,  were 
exhausted  by  the  march,  the  battle,  the  chase,  and  the  coun- 
ter-march, having  been  twenty-four  hours  in  action,  covering 
forty  miles,  without  rest,  and,  moreover,  destitute  of  water 
for  twelve  hours;  a  feat  almost  unparalleled.  None  so  deeply 
deplored  the  mistake  as  the  anguished  officer  who  so  excitedly 
and  innocently  committed  it,  and  whose  subsequently  toma- 
hawked head,  and  body  pierced  by  a  ball  and  three  arrows, 
told  how  loyally  he  had  served  a  commander  he  loved  even 
unto  death.  2 

The  battle  of  Dead  Buffalo  Lale  was  fought  Sunday,  July 
2G,  18ti3.  The  evacuated  Indian  camp  was  passed  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  twenty-sixth,  and,  about  noon,  the  scout  alarm 


1  I>iary,  p.  CO. 

2  Lieutenant  Fn;duric  Holt  Beever  was  a  young  volunteer  Englishman,  of  high  educa- 
tion, wealth,  and  iiccoinplishnient,  a  graduate  of  Oxford,  who  sought  and  was  given  a  place 
on  <;eueral  Siblry's  staff".  Noting  his  untimely  death,  which  occurred  July  2'.)th,  while  bear- 
ing hack  an  answer  to  an  order  to  Colonel  Crooks,  (ioneral  .Sibley  says:  "  His  Ijody  was  found 
in  the  donst,'  tinilKjr  near  the  rivc^r.  Two  pools  of  Ijlood  on  the  side  of  the  trail  wlicre  the 
Indians  liad  been  in  anibiisb,  in<lic.'ilfil  that  U.  liad  not  fallen  unavenged,  but  liad  shot  at 
li;ast  two  of  Ills  assailants  before  suceunibing.  He  was  a  model  of  a  courteous,  modest  gen- 
tl>;nian,and  his  death  is  much  lamented  In  camp."  —  Diary,  p.  76.  His  body  was  " buried 
with  funeral  lionora"  at  Cauip  .Slaughter,  .July  31,  1863. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  311 

of  ^^  Indians  conmiff!^^  was  raised.  A  line  of  skirmishers,  un- 
der Colonel  Crooks,  was  at  once  thrown  forward  six  hundred 
yards,  supported  by  Captain  Chase  and  his  pioneers,  Mith 
Whipple's  section  of  six-pounders,  in  order  to  check  this 
Indian  advance.  Discharges  of  spherical  case  shot  caused 
the  Indians  to  retreat,  but  only  to  commence,  as  usual,  encir- 
cling the  camp.  A  flank  movement,  attempted  on  the  left, 
was  frustrated  by  Captain  Taylor  and  his  company  of  mounted 
rangers,  who  next  hastened  to  the  support  of  Lieutenant  Col- 
onel Averill,  resisting,  with  two  companies  of  the  Sixth  regi- 
ment, the  force  assailing  another  portion  of  the  camp.  The 
final  assault  was  made  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  by  the 
reinforced  Indians,  who  dashed,  by  circuitous  route,  to  the 
extreme  left  of  the  camp,  with  a  design  to  stampede  the  mules 
herded  on  the  shore  of  the  lake.  This  bold  attempt  was 
quickly  met  and  repulsed  by  Wilson's  and  Davy's  companies 
of  cavalry,  Major  McLaren  at  once  extending  a  line  of  six 
companies  of  the  Sixth  regiment,  and  thus  effectually  secur- 
ing that  flank  from  further  attack.  The  Indians,  foiled  in 
their  charge,  retired  from  the  contest,  leaving  a  goodly  num- 
ber of  their  dead  and  wounded  on  the  field.  Their  force  dur- 
ing the  day  ranged  from  seven  hundred  to  eight  hundred. 
Nine  were  killed  by  one  man,  all  Sissetons  and  Cut  Heads, 
and  each  was  scalped.  At  nightfall,  earthworks  were  thrown 
up  as  a  defense  against  sudden  surprise. 

TJie  battle  of  Stony  Lake  was  fought  Tuesday,  July  28,  1863. 
Nothing  was  more  certain  than  that  the  Indians  were  making 
for  the  Missouri  river,  closely  pressed  by  General  Sibley,  and 
fighting  desperately  as  they  halted  a  moment  to  give  their 
wretched  wives,  mothers,  and  children,  a  transient  relief  from 
the  horrors  of  the  chase.  Their  only  hope  of  escai3e  lay  in 
the  absence  of  General  Sully.  Again,  by  forced  marching. 
General  Sibley  overtook  them.  On  the  morning  of  the  twen- 
ty-eighth, as  the  rear  of  the  train  filed  round  the  end  of  a 
narrow  lake,  a  mile  long,  the  Tenth  regiment  being  in  the 
advance  ascending  a  long  hill,  a  scout  suddenly  waved  his 
blanket,  in  token  of  danger,  when  from  every  sand  hill  on 
every  side  the  Indians  seemed  to  spring,  as  by  magic,  out  of 
the  ground,  and  began  to  encircle  the  camp.  According  to 
the  estimates  of  Colonels  Crooks  and  Marshall,  and  Major 
Brown,  their  number  could  not  have  been  less  than  from  2, 000 


312  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

to  2,500.^  Whatever  direction  some  may  have  taken  when, 
breaking  up  into  three  separate  camps,  they  commenced 
moving  southward,  these  in  front  of  General  Sibley  had  clear- 
ly been  reinforced  by  their  trans-Missouri  friends.  Not  only 
the  Lower  Sissetons  and  part  of  the  Yanktonnais,  but  the 
trans -Missouri  Tetons  also  were  present.  General  Sibley, 
riding  past  Colonel  Baker,  to  the  top  of  the  ridge,  directed 
him  to  deploy  two  comj)anies,  at  once,  as  skirmishers,  and 
sent  orders  to  the  regimental  commanders  to  take  their  posi- 
tions, in  haste,  according  to  the  program  of  the  line  of  march. 
Not  a  moment  too  soon  had  b^e  blanket  been  waved,  or 
the  order  given.  Onward  the  Indians  came,  with  fiendish 
yells,  "their  vast  numbers  enabling  them  to  form  two -thirds  of 
a  circle,  five  or  six  miles  in  extent,'^  along  the  whole  line  of 
which  they  were  seeking  for  some  weak  point  upon  which  to 
precipitate  themselves."^  Their  advance,  splendid  as  swift, 
was  foiled,  however,  and  their  repeated  efforts  to  break 
through  General  Sibley's  lines  were  sorely  disappointed. 
Colonel  Crooks,  with  the  Sixth  regiment,  on  the  right  flank, 
and  Colonel  Marshall,  with  the  Seventh  and  McPhail's  caval- 
ry, on  the  left  flank,  effectually  repulsed  every  attempt.  The 
brunt  of  the  conflict  was  borne  by  the  Tenth  regiment,  Col- 
onel Baker,  in  front,  where  the  Indian  assault  was  most  gal- 
lantly met  and  broken.  The  artillery  dislodged  from  their 
holes  and  lurking  places  in  the  stony  ground,  south  of  the 
lake,  the  enemy  there  concealed.  At  last  the  order  was  given 
to  advance,  in  full  force,  in  battle  line,  out  on  the  open  prai- 


1  In  General  Sibley's  General  Order,  No.  51,  the  number  is  put  at  2,000,  but  more  accu- 
rate information,  after  the  battle,  increased  the  tigurea.  Sibley's  telegram  to  Pope  says 
"  2,000  to  2,500."  His  diary  notes  the  forces  as  from  "2,200  to  2,-')n0."  So,  also,  his  official 
report  to  Major  General  Pope.  In  the  Seminole  War,  the  Seminoles  could  only  bring  into  the 
field  "1,910  warriors,  of  whom  250  were  negro  slaves,"  their  territory  being  only  47,000  square 
miles,  bloodhounds  being  used  to  hunt  them,  and  S200  reward  offered  for  e?ery  Indian  scalp. 
General  Scott  and  the  ablest  officers  of  the  army  were  in  the  tield  against  them,  and,  after 
seven  years'  fighting,  were  compelled  to  make  peace  with  them.  The  " /Simir  Li/liput" 
General  Sibley  bad  to  deal  with  could  iimster  4,000  warriors,  did  muster  nearly  2,500  in  this 
one  engagement,  had  a  territory  of  200,000  square  miles,  and  were  encouraged  to  fight  not 
only  by  the  Confeiloracy  of  the  South,  but  by  French  and  Knglish  inlluences. —  Diary,  p.  71 ; 
Rebellion  Uecords,  Vol.  XIV  ;  Dakota  War-Whooj),  p.  397  ;  Rryant's  Indian  Massacre,  p.  494 ; 
Heard's  Sioux  War,  p.  388. 

2  Official  Ileport  to  Major  General  I'()I)l'. —  Uebellion  Record. 

3  General  Sibley  referred  to  this  scene  —  in  personal  conversation  with  the  writer — as 
"one  of  the  most  magnificent  sights"  he  ever  saw.  "Their  advance  as  they  deployed  was  a 
perfect  i»lct ore."  So  Colonel  I'landrau  describes  the  scene  of  their  advance  upon  New  Ulm. 
till'  year  previous,  ex  ((audi  rig  in  "  fan-like"  order  and  "  encircling"  the  place,  as  "  very  fine 
and  highly  exciting."— Magazine  of  Western  Hi.story,  April,  1888,  p.  G61. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  313 

rie,  and  move  iu  the  direction  of  the  families  of  the  Indians, 
firing  front,  right,  and  left.  The  order  was  executed  with 
great  spirit.  The  volleys  were  rapid  and  incessant,  and  the 
six-jiounders  and  two  sections  of  mountain  howitzers  whirled 
their  exploding  shells  into  plunging  ponies  and  men.  The 
savages,  seeing  the  design  of  the  movement,  broke,  running 
in  the  same  direction,  and  withdrew  from  the  field.  The 
flight  was  swift.  The  Indian  camp  contained  "nearly  10,000 
souls."  ^  The  punishment  was  severe.  It  was  the  last  des- 
perate struggle  of  the  haughty  Dakotas  this  side  the  Missouri 
river.  Had  General  Sully#^  force  only  appeared  in  time, 
according  to  the  design  of  the  expedition,  the  Indians,  caught 
between  upper  and  nether  millstones,  had  been  ground  to 
powder. 

Two  days  more  remain  of  this  eventful  week  of  forced  march- 
ing and  fighting.  Monday,  July  27th,  the  trail  of  the  retreat- 
ing Indians  was  followed,  until,  iu  the  distance,  '■^La  Butte  de 
MissourV^  hove  into  sight,  the  Indians  and  General  Sibley's 
advance  having  "  lively  skirmishes"  during  the  day,  not  a 
few  of  the  former  being  wounded  or  killed. 

A  Young  Teton  was  caught  on  the  twenty-eighth,  whose 
exploit,  in  successfully  evading  the  bullets  of  his  pursuers  by 
holding  up,  backhanded,  behind  him,  his  outstretched  buffalo 
robe,  jerked  like  a  shuttle  from  side  to  side,  as  he  ran  skipping 
with  zigzag  motion,  had  won  for  him  great  admiration.  "A  per- 
fect Apollo  in  form,"  he  was  led  to  the  tent  of  General  Sibley. 
Having  proved  his  non-participation  in  the  fight,  and  mere 
presence  for  the  sake  of  "seeing  how  the  Indians  could  whip 
the  whites,"  and  being  a  noble  character, —  heir  to  the  chief- 
tainship of  his  tribe, — he  was  sometime  afterward  released  by 
General  Sibley,  who  sent  a  kind  note  to  his  father,  recom- 
mending him  always  to  be  at  peace,  and  to  treat  with  mercy 
any  white  captives,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  he  had  spared  the 
life  of  his  son.  Such  deeds  are  wise  as  they  are  generous,  and 
full  of  good  fruit.  General  Sibley  still  continued  his  violent 
march,  having  not  only  fought  the  battle  of  Stony  Lake,  but 
advanced  eighteen  miles  the  same  day,  with  quadrupled  teams, 
in  close  column,  camiHug  that  evening,  at  Camp  Slaughter, 
Apple  creek.     The  next  day,  Wednesday,  July  29th,  crossing 


1  Official  Report  to  Major  General  Pope. 

No  such  concentration  of  force  has,  so  far  as  my  information  extends,  ever  been  made 
by  the  savages  of  the  American  Continent. —  General  Sibley. 


314  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

the  Apple  creek,  thermometer  one  hundred  and  four  degrees 
in  the  shade,  the  expedition  made  sixteen  miles  of  rapid  and 
difficult  progress,  the  cavalry  and  six-pounders  in  advance, 
and,  in  the  afternoon,  ^^ struck  the  Missouri  river  about  four 
miles  above  Burnt  Boat  island,  ivhere  a  natural  passage  exists, 
through  the  bluffs,  to  the  river.  The  Indian  camp  was  plainly 
visible  on  the  bluffs  opposite,  and  the  hills  were  lined  toith  savages, 
^catching  our  line  ofmarch.^^  ^ 

Here  was  the  terminal  point  of  the  expedition,  nearly  six 
hundred  miles  from  St.  Paul,  or  by  the  odometer,  five  hun- 
dred and  eighty-five  miles.  Het^t  the  Indians  had  crossed,  not 
caring  to  risk  another  engagement  with  General  Sibley.  Gen- 
eral Sully  had  failed  to  intercept.  Shelling  the  dense  timber, 
one  and  one-half  miles  thick,  through  which  the  Indian  trails 
passed  to  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  where  Lieutenant  Beever 
lost  his  life,  at  the  hands  of  straggling  Indians  in  ambush, 
Colonel  Crooks,  with  the  Sixth  regiment.  Colonel  McPhail 
with  the  cavalry,  and  others,  were  ordered  to  advance,  imme- 
diately, to  the  edge  of  the  river.  General  Sibley  and  the  main 
column,  "at  4  p.  m.,  same  day,  moved  down  to  the  banks  of 
Apple  river,  near  the  Missouri,  and  encamped  on  a  high  table- 
land.'^^ The  detachments  sent  into  the  woods  returned  to  the 
camp,  after  a  brief  but  ineffectual  exchange  of  shots  with  the 
Indians  across  the  river.  Eockets  were  thrown  up  and  guns 
fired,  in  the  hope  that  General  Sully  might,  even  yet,  be  near, 
but  in  vain.  At  midnight,  the  long  roll  was  suddenly  sound- 
ed, the  prairie  having  been  set  on  fire  by  the  Indians,  and  the 
alarm  of  "Indians! "  given.  General  Sibley  ordered  the  grass 
around  the  camp  to  be  also  fired  at  once,  fighting  fire  with  fire, 
and  throwing  scouts  out  in  advance.  At  7  A.  M.,  July  30th, 
a  detachment  of  eleven  companies,  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  Crooks,  was  sent  back  to  the  "Sioux  Crossing"  to 
destroy  the  wagons  and  other  property  left  by  the  Indians  this 
side  the  river,  and  to  search  for  Lieutenant  Beever's  body. 
After  dark,  the  detachment  returned  to  camp,  having  burned 
more  than  one  hundred  wagons  and  vehicles  of  various  sorts, 

1  Diary,  p.  72.  "The  Hiirnt  Boat  Island"  is  now  called  "  Sibley  Island,"  and  the  "natural 
passage"  is  now  called  the  "Sionx  Crnssiriff."  The  latitude  is  46°  32'  and  the  loiiKitude  100° 
15'.  The  hanks  of  the  Missouri  were  densely  tiiuhercd  one  and  one-half  miles  tliick.  The 
place  here  referred  to  is  not  far  from  Bismarck,  where  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad  overspans 
the  Missouri  river. 

2  This  was  on  the  evening  of  .July  29th,  and  the  camp  liere  formed  was  called  "Camp 
Braden,"  the  place  where  Lieutenant  Beever's  recovered  body  was  "buried  with  funeral 
honors,"  July  31,  180:5. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  315 

also  bearing  back  the  corpse  of  the  lamented  young  English- 
man, and  of  the  private  of  the  Sixth  regiment,  who  also  had 
been  murdered.  Again,  without  answer,  the  signal  guns  were 
fired  and  rockets  sent  up  for  Sully.  Friday,  July  '61st,  the  gen- 
eral order  w((s  given  to  the  troops  to  prepare  for  their  homeward 
7)iarch  to  morrow,  the  remains  of  Lieutenant  Beever  and  the 
private  having  first  been  committed  to  their  prairie  graves. 
How  sad  the  sigh  of  General  Sibley,  "It  is  hard  to  see  these 
wretches  escape  from  our^clutches,  but  there  is  no  remedy."  ^ 
And  there  was  none!  The  transportation  was  exhausted  and 
overcome.  The  burdensome  pontoons  had  been  abandoned  on 
the  forced  marching.  To  cross  the  river  in  the  face  of  a  gall- 
ing fire  was  destruction  wholly  useless.  To  delay  was  impos- 
sible. Only  twelve  days'  rations  were  present,  and  ten  days 
were  required  to  return  to  Fort  Atchison.  The  expedition 
7nust  move  from  Camp  Braden,  to-morrow,  Saturday,  August 
1,  1863.  All  had  been  done  that  human  strength  and  wisdom 
could  do,  and  to  wait  longer  for  General  Sully  was  out  of  the 
question.  At  5:30  A.  M.,  August  1,  1863,  the  whole  force  start- 
ed on  its  return. 

If  anyone  concludes,  from  this  itinerary,  that  an  ofiicer 
so  distinguished,  and  in  every  way  so  reliable,  as  General 
Sully,  was  guilty  of  negligence,  or  indisposition,  the  judg- 
ment would  be  as  false  as  the  open  fact  of  his  absence  was 
true.  It  is  General  Sibley  himself,  who,  with  characteristic 
justice  and  magnanimity,  says,  "For  three  successive  even- 
ings I  caused  cannon  to  be  fired  and  signal  rockets  sent  up, 
but  all  these  elicited  no  reply  from  General  Sully,  and  I  am 
apprehensive  he  is  detained  by  insurmountable  obstacles."  ^ 
it  was  even  so.  Not  till  a  week  after  General  Sibley  left 
Camp  Pope  did  General  Sully  start  from  Sioux  City.  The  day 
General  Sibley  faced  for  home,  August  1,  1863,  General  Sully 
was  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  below  him  on  the  Missouri 
river,  and  the  day  he  left  Fort  Atchison,  July  20,  1863,  with 
1,430  infantry,  560  cavalry,  besides  guns.  General  Sully  left 
Fort  Pierre  with  1,200  cavalry,  moving,  by  forced  march,  to 
the  Big  Bend  in  the  Missouri  river.  Nor  was  it  till  August 
28th  he  learned  that  General  Sibley  had  successfully  engaged 
the  Indians.  "There's  a  Divinity  that  shapes  our  ends, 
rough  hew  them  how  we  will,"  and  it  was  not  written  in  the 


1  Diary,  p.  74. 

2  Official  Report  to  Major  General  Pope. 


316  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

Book  of  Destiny  that,  as  yet,  the  Dakotas  should  utterly  per- 
ish beneath  the  upper  and  nether  millstones  of  this  expedi- 
tion. 

The  expedition  under  General  Sibley  was  a  triumphant 
success,  notwithstanding  the  Indians  crossed  the  river.  They 
were  compelled  to  cross.  The  annals  of  Indian  warfare  pre- 
sent no  parallel  to  this  campaign,  in  celerity  of  movement, 
economy,  care  of  the  lives  of  the  troops,  and  effective  result. 
Within  six  weeks'  time,  or  forty-twg  days,  exactly,  from  June 
16th,  when  the  troops  left  Camp  Pope,  to  July  28tb,  when  the 
final  battle  of  Stony  Lake  was  fought.  General  Sibley  had 
marched  nearly  600  miles,  attaining  a  point  in  latitude  north, 
46°  41',  and  longitude  west,  100°  35',  reaching  within  30  miles  of 
Devil's  lake,  then  turning  southward  and  westward,  pushing 
the  Indians  before  him,  pressed  on,  with  his  moccasined  men, 
by  forced  marches,  toward  the  Missouri  coteau  and  river, 
fighting  the  three  battles  of  July  24th,  26th,  and  28th,  ther- 
mometer ranging  from  ninety-four  degrees  to  one  hundred  and 
eight  degrees  in  the  shade,  and  all  with  casualties  of  but 
seven  killed  and  three  wounded,  while  inflicting  upon  the 
enemy  not  only  the  severe  loss  of  nearly  one  hundred  and 
fifty  killed  and  wounded,  but  the  destruction  of  the  entire 
camp  of  the  Sioux,  driving  from  8,000  to  10,000  Indians,  wail- 
ing and  helpless,  across  the  Missouri  river.  Achievements 
like  this  are  rare  indeed.  The  piercing  night-cries  and  lam- 
entations of  the  squaws,  and  Indian  mothers,  told  how  fear- 
fully the  Indians  had  been  punished.  With  truth,  the  victor 
could  send  the  dispatch  to  Major  General  Pope,  forwarded 
immediately  to  Major  General  Halleck:^ 

August  7,  18fi3. — We  had  three  desperate  en<^ageraents  with  2,300 
Sioux  ■warriors,  in  each  of  which  they  were  routed  and  finally  driven  across 
the  Missouri  with  the  loss  of  all  their  subsistence.  Our  loss  was  small, 
while  at  least  one  hundred  and  fil'ty  savages  were  killed  and  wounded. 

H.    H.   SlIU.EY, 
Driyadier  General,  Commanding. 

In  liis  general  order,  ending  the  campaign,  July  31,  1863, 
with  justifiable  pride  on  the  one  hand,  and  devout  gratitude 
on  the  other,  he  thanked  his  noble  officers  and  troops  for 
their  fidelity,  endniance,  and  courage,  and  congratulated 
them  ui)on  the  r<isults  of  the  expedition: 


1  St.  Piiiil  |)aily  1'res.H,  .Aiigusl  15,  1803. 


HON.  HENEY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  317 

Camp  Beadex,  July  31,  1863. 

To  the  Officers  and  Soldiers  of  the  Expeditionary  Forces  in  Camp: 

It  is  proper  for  the  brigadier  general  commanding  to  announce  to  you 
that  the  march  to  the  west  and  south  is  completed,  and  that  on  to-morrow 
the  column  will  move  homewards,  to  discharge  such  other  duties  connected 
^vith  the  objects  of  the  expedition,  on  the  way,  as  may  from  time  to  time 
present  themselves. 

In  making  this  announcement,  General  Sibley  expresses  also  his  high 
gratification  that  the  campaign  has  been  a  complete  success.  The  design 
of  the  government  in  chastising  the  savages,  and  thereby  preventing,  for 
the  future,  the  raids  upon  the  frontier,  has  been  accomplished.  You  have 
routed  the  miscreants  who  murdered  our  people  last  year,  banded,  as  they 
were,  with  the  powerful  Upper  Sioux,  to  the  number  of  over  2,000  war- 
riors, in  three  successful  engagements,  with  heavy  loss,  and  driven  them, 
in  confusion  and  dismay,  across  the  Missouri  river,  leaving  behind  them  all 
their  vehicles,  provisions  and  skins  designed  for  clothing,  which  have  been 
destroyed.  Forty-four  bodies  of  warriors  have  been  found,  and  mauj^  others 
concealed  or  taken  away,  according  to  the  custom  of  these  savages,  so  that 
it  is  certain  they  lost,  in  killed  and  wounded,  not  less  than  from  one  hundred 
and  twenty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  men.  All  this  has  been  acomplished 
with  the  comparatively  trifling  loss  on  our  part  of  three  killed  and  as  many 
wounded.  You  have  marched  nearly  six  hundred  miles  from  St.  Paul,  and 
the  powerful  bands  of  the  Dakotas,  who  have  hitherto  held  undisputed  pos- 
session of  the  great  prairies,  have  succumbed  to  your  valor  and  discipline, 
and  sought  safety  in  flight.  The  intense  heat  and  drought  have  caused 
much  suffering,  which  you  have  endured  without  a  murmur.  The  com- 
panies of  the  Sixth,  Seventh,  Ninth,  and  Tenth  regiments  of  Minnesota 
Volunteers,  and  of  the  First  regiment  Minnesota  Mounted  Eangers,  and 
the  scouts  of  the  battery,  have  amply  sustained  the  reputation  of  the  state 
by  their  bravery  and  endurance,  amidst  unknown  dangers  and  great  hard- 
ships. Each  has  had  the  opportunity  to  distinguish  itself  against  a  foe  at 
least  equal  in  numbers  to  itself. 

It  would  be  a  gratiflcation  if  these  remorseless  savages  could  have  been 
pursued,  and  received  for  their  crimes  and  barbarities  such  a  full  measure 
of  punishment  as  they  merited,  but  men  and  animals  are  alike  exhausted 
after  so  long  a  march,  and  a  forther  pursuit  would  only  be  futile  and 
hopeless.  The  military  results  of  the  campaign  have  been  completely  ac- 
complished, for  the  savages  have  not  only  been  destroyed  in  great  numbers, 
and  their  main  strength  broken,  but  their  prospects  for  the  future  are  hope- 
less indeed,  for  they  can  scarcely  escape  starvation  during  the  approaching 
winter. 

It  is  peculiarly  gratifying  to  the  brigadier  general  commanding  to  know 
that  the  tremendous  fatigues  and  manifold  dangers  of  the  expedition,  thus 
far,  have  entailed  so  small  a  loss  of  life  in  his  command.  A  less  careful 
policy  than  that  adopted  might  have  effected  the  destruction  of  more  of  the 
enemy,  but  that  could  only  have  been  done  by  a  proportional  exposure  on 
our  part,  and  the  consequent  loss  of  many  more  lives,  bringing  sorrow  and 
mourning  to  our  homes.     Let  us  therefore  return  thanks  to  a  merciful  God 


318  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

for  his  manifest  interposition  in  our  favor,  and  for  the  success  attendant 
upon  our  eftbrts  to  secure  peace  to  the  borders  of  our  own  state  and  of  our 
neighbors  and  friends  in  Dakota  Territory;  and,  as  we  proceed  on  our  march 
toward  those  most  near  and  dear  to  us,  let  us  be  prepared  to  discharge  other 
duties  which  may  be  imposed  upon  us  during  our  journey  with  cheerful  and 
willing  hearts. 

To  the  regimental  and  company  officers  of  his  command,  the  brigadier 
general  commanding  tenders  his  warmest  thanks  for  their  co-operation  and 
aid  on  every  occasion  during  the  progress  of  the  column  through  the  heart 
of  an  unknown  region,  inhabited  by  a  subtle  and  merciless  foe. 

For  the  friends  and  families  of  our  fallen  comrades  we  have  our  warmest 
sympathies  to  offer  in  their  bereavement. 

General  Sibley  takes  this  occasion  to  express  his  appreciation  of  the  ac- 
tivity and  zeal  displayed  by  the  members  of  his  staff,  one  and  all. 

By  command  of 

Bbigadier  General  Sibley. 

And,  thus,  with  his  tender  word  of  ' '  warmest  sympathy  for 
the  friends  and  families  of  our  fallen  comrades  in  their  be- 
reavement," and  his  grateful  compliments  to  his  staff,  the  mili- 
tary order  closes.  How  few  the  generals  from  whose  lips  and 
pens  such  military  words  as  these,  and  in  such  a  faultless  style, 
can  fall!    The  giant  and  the  babe  are  here. 

Important  to  the  wliole  country,  not  less  than  to  the  State 
of  Minnesota  and  Dakota  Territory,  were  the  decisive  vic- 
tories achieved  by  General  Sibley,  during  the  last  week  of 
July,  1863.  As,  in  September,  1862,  when  the  battle  of  Birch 
Coolie  was  fought,  it  broke  the  Indian  combination,  in  the 
very  crisis  of  the  nation's  danger,  so,  in  July,  1863,  when  the 
battle  of  Stony  Lake  was  fought,  it  again  broke  the  greater 
Indian  combination,  in  the  crisis  of  the  nation's  second  and 
more  alarming  danger.  Another  year  of  Civil  War  had  gone 
without  a  decisive  result.  Another  effort  had  been  zealously 
made  to  combine  the  Indian  tribes  against  the  national  gov- 
ernment. The  hour  was  full  of  gloom.  Lee  had  invaded 
Pennsylvania.  Morgan  had  invaded  Ohio  and  Indiana.  The 
Confederate  troops  were  actually  in  front  of  Harrisburg.  In 
every  state  in  the  Union,  every  man  capable  of  bearing  arms 
was  called  out.  Roebuck,  in  the  commons,  and  Palmerston 
in  the  lords,  with  the  London  "T/mcs"  thundering  away,  were 
urging  the  British  Gov^ernment  to  recognize  the  Southern 
Confederacy  not  merely  as  a  belligerent,  but  as  an  independ- 
ent foreign  ])()wer.  The  English  clergy,  the  nobility,  and  the 
higli  g<;ntry  had  openly  espoused  the  Southern  cause.  Already 
Mexico  had  been  placed  under  a  French  i^rotectorate.     The 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  319 

South  had  proposed  to  Louis  Napoleon  a  friendly  alliance. 
The  same  offer  was  made  to  Spain.  The  Papal  Government 
had  already  recognized  the  Confederacy,  the  only  government 
that  ever  did  so,  and  now,  July,  1863,  the  nice  little  scheme 
of  a  combined  "European  protectorate  over  the  South"  was 
suggested.  But  deliverance  came.  July  3,  1863,  the  battle 
of  Gettysburg  was  fought,  and,  though  the  army  of  Lee  es- 
caped across  the  Potomac,  the  Confederate  power  was  broken. 
Then  came  the  surrender  of  Vicksburg,  unchaining  the  Mis- 
sissippi, followed  by  successive  triumphs  till  peace  was  re- 
stored. Not  otherwise  was  it  with  reference  to  the  state  of 
the  Indian  question  and  combination,  and  the  danger  await- 
ing Minnesota.  The  battle  of  Stony  Lake,  fought  by  Sibley, 
bore  to  that  question  the  same  relation  that  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg,  fought  by  Meade,  bore  to  the  national  question. 
It  did  more.  It  had  a  national  relation  itself.  It  affected 
both  North  and  South,  for  it  shattered  the  Sioux  power,  and 
broke  the  last  secret  hope  to  unite  the  tribes  of  the  "West  and 
Northwest  against  the  national  government.  Only  twenty- 
four  hours  stood  between  Lee's  army  and  annihilation,  or 
total  surrender.  Only  twenty-four  hours  stood  between  the 
Sioux  warriors,  with  their  camp  of  10,000,  and  the  same 
fate.  If  the  Potomac,  crossed  by  the  defeated  foe,  did  not 
lessen  the  value  of  the  action  at  Gettysburg,  so  neither  did  the 
Missouri,  crossed  by  the  vanquished  Dakotas,  diminish  the 
importance  of  the  victory  at  Stony  Lake.  The  Sioux  out- 
break of  1862,  renewed  in  1863,  was  no  spasmodic  emeute  de- 
tached from  the  vital  organism  of  the  Civil  War.  Notwith- 
standing the  proximate  causes  that  precipitated  it,  it  was  part 
and  parcel  of  the  same.  And  it  was  the  throbbing  of  a  com- 
mon loyalty  in  the  hearts  of  two  noble  soldiers,  bound  to  a 
common  cause,  which  made  Sibley  say,  "I  feel  greatly  de- 
pressed to-day,  by  the  gloomy  news  of  the  advance  of  the 
rebels,"  and  made  Sully  snatch  his  pen  in  the  wilderness  and 
send  greetings  to  Governor  Ramsey,  for  ' '  the  charge  of  the 
glorious  old  First  regiment  of  Minnesota  at  Gettysburg!" 
The  cause  was  one,  and  the  warm  pulsation  one,  whether  in 
the  coteau,  or  on  the  bank  of  the  Missouri  river,  or  along  the 
blood-stained  valley  of  the  Cumberland.  ^ 

1  iVote.— The  attitude  of  the  British  GoTernment  toward  the  United  States  in  their 
death-grapple  with  the  Rebellion  was  unfriendly  to  the  last  degree.  One  circumstance  alone, 
in  reference  to  the  Indian  War,  reveals  it.  Upon  multiplied  appeals  made  to  General  Sibley, 
by  prominent  and  numerous  subjects  of  her  Majesty  residing  near  Fort  Garry  in  Manitoba, 


320  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

Whatever  diversity  of  view  existed,  at  first,  as  to  the  ex- 
pedition under  General  Sibley,  the  calm  reflection  of  twenty- 
five  years,  deepening  with  time,  has  sealed  but  one  verdict. 
In  the  most  triumphant  manner,  history  has  crowned  his  wis- 
dom and  skill,  in  both  his  campaigns,  with  the  wreath  of  a  con- 
sentient and  imperishable  testimony.  "General  Sibley,"  says 
one  who  has  lived  forty  years  among  the  Sioux,  "deserves 
great  praise  for  having  so  conducted  this  campaign  (1863)  as 
to  lose  so  few  of  his  men.  Sorrow  will  come  to  the  hearts  of 
some  when  the  casualties  are  learned,  but  these  are  few  com- 
pared with  what  they  would  have  been  under  a  less  skillful 
and  careful  commander." ^  "If  we  look  at  historic  facts," 
says  another,  "  we  find  no  more  successful  campaigns  against 
the  Indians  than  have  been  those  of  General  Sibley.  All 
agree  that  all  was  done  that  human  wisdom  and  human  energy 
could  do.  The  name  of  Henry  H.  Sibley  will  live  on  history's 
unsullied  page.  Posterity  will  laud  him  when  those  of  his 
base  calumniators  will  be  lost  in  the  great  whirlpool  of  ob- 
livion." ^  At  the  conclusion  of  his  "address  at  the  reunion 
of  the  early  settlers  of  Nicollet  county,  January  27,  1880," 
ex-Governor  Marshall,  who  led  so  valiantly  the  Seventh  regi- 
ment in  both  campaigns,  deemed  it  a  pleasure  to  say,  "  I  can- 
not close  an  address  on  events  in  which  the  figure  of  General 
H.  H.  Sibley  was  so  prominent  without  a  few  words  to  testify 
my  great  esteem  for  one,  who,  take  him  all  in  all,  is  the  best 

to  pursue  the  hostile  Sioux  should  they  cross  into  British  territory,  since  no  force  existed 
there  adequate  to  protect  the  settlers,  General  Sibley  made  official  application  to  the  British 
GoTernnient,  through  Major  General  Pope,  asking  permission  to  cross  the  boundary  in  case 
the  savages  should  seek  refuge  on  British  soil.  Secretary  Stanton  received  the  letters  of  ap- 
peal, General  Sibley's  application,  and  Major  General  Pope's  indorsement,  and  lodged  the 
same  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Seward,  who  addressed  a  communication  to  Lord  Lyons,the  British 
minister  at  Washington.  Lord  Lyons  declining  to  take  the  responsibility  of  a  decision,  trans- 
mitted the  documents  to  her  Majesty's  privy  council  in  London.  What  the  answer  was  is 
well  known.  Great  Britain  refused  to  allow  the  sanctity  of  British  soil  to  be  invaded  by  the 
armed  force  of  another  nationality!  Fortunately,  as  already  shown,  the  large  body  of  the 
Indians  changed  their  course  westward  and  southward,  marching  toward  the  Missouri 
river.  After  their  three  successive  defeats,  General  Sibley  received  from  General  Halleck 
the  British  answer,  with  orders  not  to  cross  the  undefined  boundary  between  the  two 
nations.  General  Sibley,  commenting  in  his  notes  on  this  transaction,  says:  "  The  order 
of  Ifalleck  would  have  reached  nie  too  lale,  had  the  hostiles  sought  refuge  in  Manitoba,  and 
I  would  doubtless  have  been  made  a  scape-goat  to  ai)pease  the  wrath  of  the  English  people, 
for  \y.w\nv^  ilfxrcrati'd  linlixli  .so iV,  even  at  the  reiieated  solicitations  of  their  own  kith  and 
kin,  for  protection  from  the  hordes  of  savage  warriors.  The  altitude  of  the  British  ministry 
in  thus  rejecting  the  offer  of  a  friendly  power  to  shield  their  own  sparse  settlements  from 
dei>redation  ami  outrage,  in  acritical  conjuncture,  and  without  cost  to  their  own  government 
seems  to  me  the  acme  of  al)surility,  savoring  of  ill  will  to  our  nation,  and  of  the  worst  fea- 
tures of  old-fogyism." 

1  Ilev.  S.  It.  Itiggc,  n.n.,  in  St.  Paul  Daily  I'ress,  August  15,  1S(J3. 

2  Dakota  War-Whoop,  by  II.  K.  B.  McConkey,  |>.  377. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  321 

and  noblest  of  men  I  have  ever  known,  I  do  not  know  how 
there  can  be  any  divided  opinion  in  regard  to  his  campaigns. 
If  there  is,  I  have  here  the  judgment  of  one  who  is  competent 
to  speak.  It  is  the  judgment  of  Major  General  Curtis  of  the 
Regular  Army,  made  to  the  United  States  Senate's  Committee 
on  Indian  Affairs,  in  reply  to  questions  touching  military  op- 
erations against  hostile  Indians.  "I  have  been  in  command  in 
the  field  up  the  Arkansas  river,  and,  elsewhere  in  operations 
against  the  hostile  bands,  and  I  am  conversant  with  all  other 
movements  under  different  commanders  in  the  same  direction, 
and  I  am  frank  to  say  that,  in  my  judgment,  no  such  important 
or  effective  blows  have  ever  been  struck  upon  the  savages  of  the 
frontier  as  those  inflicted  by  the  Minnesota  troops  under  the  com- 
mand of  General  Sibley  in  his  campaigns  q/il862  and  1863."  ^ 

In  presence  of  such  testimonials  as  these,  which  place  Gen- 
eral Sibley  in  the  front  rank  of  Indian  commanders,  silence 
becomes  a  civilian  even  as  a  salute  becomes  a  soldier.  To 
add  words  here  is  to  "carry  coals  to  Newcastle"  and  "owls 
to  Athens." 

There  are  some  things  connected  with  the  expedition  of 
1863  which  ought  not,  in  any  account  of  it,  to  be  withheld  from 
the  public,  and  others  the  sanctity  of  which  will  not  be  in- 
vaded by  revealing  to  the  state  the  burden  of  agony  General 
Sibley  was  called  upon  to  bear,  in  addition  to  the  load  of  mili- 
tary responsibility,  and  the  assaults  of  detraction,  when  en- 
tering on,  and  while  conducting,  the  same.  It  is  worthy  of 
special  notice  that,  as  a  commander,  he,  first  of  all,  forbade 


1  St.  Peter  Tribune,  Wednesday,  January  28,  1880. 

The  testimony  of  tlie  Hon.  E.  M.  Stanton,  secretary  of  war,  is  no  less  conclusive.  After 
General  Sibley  was  detailed  as  a  member  of  the  national  civil  and  military  commission  to 
negotiate  treaties  with  the  Indians  on  the  Upper  Missouri,  he  visited  Washington,  by 
order  of  the  war  department,  to  report  to  the  secretary  of  the  interior,  and,  with  Major  Gen- 
eral Curtis,  called  on  Mr.  Stanton.  When  entering  the  office,  crowded  with  military  men, 
and  others,  the  usher  called  out  their  names.  Mr.  Stanton,  though  pressed  with  important 
business,  immediately  left  his  desk,  at  the  other  end  of  the  room,  and,  hastening  to  the  door, 
shook  hands  with  General  Curtis,  who  introduced  General  Sibley  to  the  great  war  secretary. 
Seizing  General  Sibley,  with  both  hands,  Mr.  Stanton  said,  "  General  Sibley,  I  have  never  had 
the  pleasure  of  meeting  you  before,  but  I  am  happy  to  see  you,  to  assure  you  that  this  govern- 
ment is  under  great  obligations  to  you  for  the  eminent  and  important  service  you  have  ren- 
dered, and  with  such  economy  and  regard  for  human  life,  while  commanding  the  military  dis- 
trict of  Minnesota."  General  Sibley  bowed  gracefully,  and,  expressing  his  thanks  for  the 
compliment  paid  him,  retired.  As  the  two  visitors  were  leaving  the  room,  General  Curtis 
remarked  to  General  Sibley,  "  General,  I  have  known  Stanton  for  many  years  and  have  had 
many  conferences  with  him  on  military  matters,  but  I  never  heard  hira  utter  any  such 
compliment  to  any  civilian  or  military  officer  as  he  has  paid  you  to-day."  Whoever  knows 
the  austere,  unbending,  and  adamantine  character  of  the  "  Iron  Secretary  of  War"  will  be 
able  to  appreciate  the  value  of  this  incident.  It  shows  what  estimate  the  authorities  at  Wash- 
ington placed  upon  General  Sibley's  military  merit. 

21 


322  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,   AND  TIMES  OF 

the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquor  to  the  troops,  "an  order  that 
remained  in  force  during  the  whole  time  of  the  exj)edition."^ 
On  one  occasion  he  broke  up  the  sutler's  store  rather  than 
suifer  it.  Also,  by  an  order  issued  and  published  to  the  camp, 
June  21, 1863,  the  first  Sunday  of  the  expedition,  the  observ- 
ance of  the  Sabbath  as  a  day  of  rest  from  all  unnecessary  mili- 
tary duty,  was  enforced,  and  throughout  the  campaign  this 
order  was  observed.  "We  shall  march  farther,"  said  he, 
"week  after  week,  by  resting  on  God's  day,  than  we  should 
by  marching  through  the  seven.  But  there  is  a  higher  view 
of  this  subject.  If  God  be  not  with  us,  we  shall  fail  of  ac- 
complishing the  desired  objects,  and  one  way  to  secure  the 
presence  and  assistance  of  God  is  to  remember  the  Sabbath 
day  to  keep  it  holy."  "On  the  Sabbath  day  the  standard 
rested  from  its  march."  ^  It  was  a  repetition  of  the  order  in 
the  camp  of  Moses  in  the  wilderness.  Twelve  Sundays  cov- 
ered the  sacred  calendar  of  the  expedition,  from  Sunday,  June 
21,  to  Sunday,  September  6,  1863.  How  conscientiously  the 
day  was  kept  is  attested,  everywhere,  in  the  diary  of  the  com- 
mander: "Sunday,  June  21st. — Remained  in  camp  to-day." 
"June  28th,  Sunday. — Ordered  back  the  stragglers,  outside, 
into  camp."  "July  5th,  Sunday. — I  have  issued  a  general 
order  enjoining  greater  vigilance  on  the  part  of  my  oflBcers, 
and  regularity  as  to  the  Sunday  order  in  the  camp."  "July 
12th,  Sunday. — Went  to  hear  Chaplain  Light  of  the  Seventh 
regiment.  His  allusions  to  home  and  its  sweet  associations 
touched  me  profoundly,  as  they  brought  vividly  to  my  mind 
how  great  the  recent  loss  in  our  dear  little  flock  at  my  home, 
and  the  uncertainty  of  Frank's  recovery."  "July  26th,  Sun- 
day.— Alarm  of  Indians.  Formed  a  line  of  skirmishers.  Nine 
killed.  Over  six  hundred  Indians  appeared."  "August  2d, 
Sunday. — I  dislike  to  travel  or  otherwise  violate  the  sanctity 
of  the  Lord's  day,  but  I  deem  it  to  be  my  duty  to  march  to- 
day." "August  8th,  Saturday. — If  sufficient  can  be  obtained 
for  the  stock,  I  shall  not  travel  to-morrow,  it  being  Sun- 
day." "August  9th,  Sunday.  —  Remained  in  camp.  Went  to 
hear  Chaplain  Lothrop.  His  allusion  to  home,  and  finding 
our  loved  ones  we  left  there,  reminded  me  painfully  of  the 
ravages  made  by  death  in  my  little  ilock."  "August  16th, 
Sunday. — Invited  Rev.  Mr.  Riggs  to  preach.     Suffered  much 

1  Dakota  War- Whoop,  ]>.  .'535. 

2  IbiJ.,  p.  337. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  323 

from  pain  in  my  knee,  and  from  dizziness."  "August  23d, 
Sunday. — In  camp.  Commission  api^oiuted  to  try  the  Indian 
prisoners  now  with  us."  "August  30tli,  Sunday. — Remained 
in  camp.  Chaplain  Bull  arrives  with  letters  from  Sarah,  of 
twenty-third  and  twenty-sixth."^  "September  6th,  Sunday. 
—  Remained  in  camp.  Bishop  Whipple  to  preach  at  half- 
past  ten  o'clock.  Governor  Ramsey,  however,  left  this  morn- 
ing."    And  so  the  record  runs. 

The  deep  personal  sorrow  and  unspeakable  bereavement 
to  which  allusion  is  made  already,  and  under  whose  wellnigh 
insupportable  pain  and  weight,  General  Sibley  served  his  state 
and  country,  was  the  death  of  two  dear  children,  during  his 
absence  in  the  field,  and  the  thought  of  home  and  its  irrepa- 
rable desolation.  Even  before  the  order  to  march  from 
Camp  Pope  was  given,  the  blow  had  fallen.  "June  13,  1863. — 
Colonel  Miller  informs  me  by  letter  of  the  death  of  my  dear  little 
lamb-like  Mamie.  God  enable  her  parents  to  bear  this  over- 
whelming blow  with  becoming  fortitude!  How  dear  to  us  this 
gentle  child  was,  he  alone  knows  who  alone  can  tell  how  ter- 
rible is  the  blow  I  have  received!  God  bless  my  poor  wife 
and  enable  her  to  bear  up  under  the  fearful  bereavement! "  It 
is  the  commander  who  is  first  struck  by  bereavement.  He 
may  not  return,  even  for  a  moment,  to  mingle  his  tears  with  the 
heart-crushed  wife  of  his  bosom,  who  sits,  clouded,  lonely,  and 
gloomed,  by  the  coffin  of  her  child.  '■''Forward !^^  It  is  the 
bugle  call!  Grief  must  be  smothered  and  home  forgotten! 
'■^Forward '.^^  What  a  preliminary  lesson,  what  a  preparation 
for  military  service  where,  soon,  other  hearts  must  wail  in 
unutterable  grief!  Was  it  an  aimless  dispensation,  an  in- 
structionless  calamity!  Calumny  herself  might  have  held  her 
tongue  till  the  brave  man's  pain  was  assuaged  and  his  tears 
were  dried!  His  "little  lamb-like  Mamie,"  though  dead,  still 
lived  in  the  quenchless  love  of  a  father's  heart.  But  more 
sorrow  was  in  store.  Billow  follows  billow.  God's  waves  roll 
high  and  fast.  "Julj^  19th. —  Remained  in  camp.  Sunday. 
Messengers  from  Abercrombie  brought  letters  for  me,  and  the 
Fress  of  the  eighth,  announcing  the  death  of  my  son  Frank. ' '  This 
was  at  Fort  Atchison,  and  the  day  preceding  the  start  on  the 
final  week  of  forced  marching  and  fighting.  The  strong  man  is 
bowed  to  the  earth,  struck  by  wounds  God  only  can  heal,  and 

1  General  Sibley  had  not  received  a  letter  from  his  sorrowing  wife  "for  forty  days  !" — 
Diary,  p.  102. 


324:  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

moaning  a  double  grief  God  only  can  assuage.  It  is  midnight. 
He  is  alone  in  his  tent.  "O  my  God,  why  hast  thou  thus 
doubly  afflicted  thy  servants'?  If  for  our  sins,  awful  has  been 
thy  chastisement  upon  us!  Poor  dear  Frank  and  Mamie!  Shall 
I  see  you  no  more  on  earth?  Dreadful  thought!  Even  the 
hope  of  again  meeting  my  beloved  wife  and  remaining  chil- 
dren becomes  more  faint  and  less  cheering  as  I  think  how  our 
home  has  been  devastated  by  death  within  a  few  short  weeks. 
God  give  my  dear  wife  and  myself  strength  sufficient  to  bear 
up  under  this  second  stroke!"  Perpetually,  throughout  his 
diary,  this  inconsolable  bereavement  asserts  its  claims.  The 
moan  breaks  through  the  tent,  floats  over  the  prairie,  mingles 
with  the  storm,  and  even  blends  its  sad  note  with  the  din  and 
fury  of  battle.  ''Poor  departed  Frank  and  Mamie!  Shall  I 
fail  to  meet  your  smiling  and  familiar  faces  and  your  loving 
welcome  when  I  reach  home?  My  poor  wife's  sorrow  affects 
me  deeply.  How  fearfully  have  we  been  visited  by  Provi- 
dence? How  shall  I  feel,  if  permitted  to  return,  to  find  my 
family  scattered  without  a  home,  and  two  of  my  dear  children 
in  their  graves?"  How  little  the  State  of  Minnesota,  secure 
from  harm,  and  enjoying  gladness,  knew  of  these  recorded 
midnight  agonies! 

He  dreams!  " Camp  Kennedy,  August  3,  1863. — Tuesday. 
I  had  distressing  dreams,  last  night,  of  Indians  attacking 
the  camp  in  overwhelming  numbers,  and  that  I  could  not 
give  the  alarm.  Then  I  dreamed  of  having  arrived  at  Belle 
Plaine,  and  found  Mrs.  Potts  there.  I  expressed  surprise  at 
her  leaving  St.  Paul,  when,  suddenly,  Sarah^  came  into  the 
room,  looking  very  smilingly  and  pleasant.  I  was  astonished 
and  delighted  to  see  her,  but  Avhen  I  wished  to  approach  her, 
to  embrace  her,  she  evaded  me  with  a  coquettish  air,  and 
would  not  come  near  me.  I  asked  her  if  she  had  brought  the 
children  with  her,  and  she  said  not!  She  had  come  to  meet  me, 
alone!  These  things  brought  back,  vividly,  upon  awaking, 
the  thoughts  of  my  poor  departed  Frank  and  Mamie,  ^   Surely 


1  Mrs.  Sibley. 

2  ThlB  reminds  us  of  a  similar  experience,  sadly  as  i)eautifully  told  by  the  poet : 

"To  my  fancied  sipht, 
Love,  sweetness,  goodness,  in  her  i)erson  sinned 
So  clear,  as  in  no  face  with  more  delight. 
But  oh'  as  to  embrace  her  I  inclined, 
She  (led;  I  waked;  and  day  brought  back  my  night." 

The  last  words  of  his  son  Frank  were,  "Tell papa  to  meet  me  in  Iluaren." 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  325 

my  return  home  will  be  a  sorrowful  oue!"  Everywhere  these 
agouies  are  reproduced  in  the  heart  of  the  sufferer.  July  1st, 
5th,  6th,  8th,  10th,  12th,  13th,  19th,  20th,  30th,  31st,  August 
3d,  5th,  24th,  September  6th,  bore  witness  how  deeply  had 
sunk  into  his  soul  the  dark-mantled  sorrow  that  came  to  be 
his  companion  as  he  started  from  Camp  Pope,  mated  by  an- 
other, in  the  midst  of  his  march;  both  death  angels  escorting 
him  to  his  desolated  home! 

Nor  were  his  thoughts  confined  to  himself  and  his  house- 
hold. He  loved  his  country  and  his  state,  next  to  his  home. 
He  longed  for  peace  and  not  war.  "July  10th. — I  spent  the 
day  in  coopering  barrels  of  hard  bread  for  our  expedition. 
We  march  at  4  a.  m.  I  feel  much  depressed  to-day,  not  only 
by  my  private  griefs  but  by  the  gloomy  news  of  the  advance 
of  the  rebels."  "August  18th,  Camp  Ambler. — Exhausted. 
This  is  the  anniversary  of  the  Sioux  outbreak  and  massacre  of 
1862.  What  changes  have  occurred  within  one  year!  Hun- 
dreds of  people  massacred,  or  their  homes  broken  up.  The 
Indians  severely  chastised  at  Wood  Lake.  Many  hung,  or 
confined  in  prison.  Campaign  of  this  year  about  to  close  with 
a  degree  of  success  almost  marvelous.  Thank  God!  The 
Southern  forces  are  being  pushed  to  the  wall,  and  apparently 
cannot  much  longer  resist.  O  for  peace  and  unity,  once  more, 
in  our  beloved  country!  God  grant  wisdom  to  its  rulers  to 
guide  the  nation  in  this  fearful  crisis  of  its  fate.  Poor  dear 
Mamie  and  dear  Frank!  How  changed  I  am  in  body  and  mind! 
I  thank  God  for  the  strength  given  me,  though  so  deeply  afflicted,  to 
do  my  whole  duty  as  leader  of  the  exjjedition.''^^ 

Has  any  state  ever  had  a  man  of  whom  it  might  be  more 
proud?  How  loving  a  husband!  How  tender  a  father!  How  in- 
corruptible in  public  life!  How  successful  a  soldier  and  com- 
mander! In  his  person  were  combined  justice  to  man,  rever- 
ence for  God,  the  sentiment  of  religion,  the  admiration  of 
virtue,  the  strength  of  personal  affection,  dependence  on  an 
overruling  Providence,  love  of  country,  fidelity,  integrity, 
truth,  endurance,  and  self-sacrifice, — a  bright-set  constellation 
of  breast-worn  honors,  outdazzling  all  the  star-and  gartered 
titles  of  nobility;  an  ornament  of  character  more  costly  than 
the  diadems  of  kings,  more  lustrous  than  the  gems  that  Aaron 
wore.  Mediocrity,  hate,  jealousy,  calumny,  and  death,  all 
love  a  "shining  mark!" 

1  Diary,  p.  102. 


326  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

The  march  homeward  from  Camp  Slaughter  to  St.  Paul  and 
Fort  Suelling  was  ably  conducted,  special  detachments  being 
sent  out,  right  and  left,  to  scour  the  country,  and  clear  it  of  all 
straggling  Indian  parties.  August  8th,  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Marshall,  with  ten  scouts  and  others,  started  at  5  A.  M.  from 
Camp  Carter,  to  speed  his  way  to  St.  Paul,  four  hundred  miles 
distant,  as  bearer  of  dispatches.  August  10th,  Fort  Atchi- 
son was  reached.  August  13th,  the  river  Cheyenne  was  re- 
crossed  at  the  same  spot  as  when  on  the  outbound  march. 
August  21st  found  the  expedition  at  Fort  Abercrombie,  and, 
by  September  4th,  it  came  to  Camp  Austin,  where  General 
Sibley  "met  Bishop  "Whij^ple,  Governor  Ramsey,  B.  Thomp- 
son, Davis,  and  others."  September  7th,  Camp  Taylor  on 
Sauk  river,  two  and  one-half  miles  from  St.  Cloud,  was 
reached,  "where  the  ladies  came  out  to  see  the  General  and 
were  introduced."  Finally,  September  8th,  at  4:30  p.  m..  Gen- 
eral Sibley  arrived  at  St.  Paul,  his  command  having  been 
transferred  by  him  to  the  care  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Averill, 
under  whom  it  entered  Fort  Snelling,  September  13,  1863. 
The  time  occupied  in  the  return  was  one  month  and  twelve 
days 

The  whole  period  of  General  Sibley's  absence,  in  command 
of  the  expeditions,  was  two  months,  two  weeks,  and  four  days, 
having  traveled,  since  starting,  1,170,  or  nearly  1,200,  miles, 
according  to  Colonel  Crooks'  computation,  or  1,039},  accord- 
ing to  General  Sibley's  computation.  Or,  if  we  combine  the 
main  features  and  results  of  the  two  campaigns  of  1862  and 
1863,  then  the  total  time  consumed  until  the  final  battles  were 
fought  was  two  months,  two  weeks,  six  days,  nearly  500  war- 
riors captured,  of  whom  425  were  tried,  321  convicted,  303 
condemned  to  be  hanged,  38  executed,  1,800  prisoners  sent  to 
Fort  Snelling  in  two  shipments,  2,000  exiled  from  the  state, 
from  8,000  to  10,000  driven  across  the  Missouri,  the  entire 
camp  of  the  Sioux  destroyed,  and  over  100  vehicles  of  all  kinds 
burned,  the  Sioux  annuities  forfeited,  their  treaties  abrogated, 
five  sharp  and  important  battles  fought,  with  a  loss  to  the 
enemy  of  over  300  kilh'd  and  wounded,  and  of  casualties  to  the 
foice  under  General  Sibley  of  54  killed  and  98  wounded,  the 
total  distance  traveled,  from  the  beginning  to  the  close  of  both 
campaigns,  being  nearly  ],r)00  miles,  the  frontier  settlements 
made  secure  forever,  against  hostile  incursions.^ 

1  To  this  final  roHiilt  Genera]  Sully  also  contributed.  After  Ocneral  Sibley's  return,  the 
Sioux  recrosHed  the  Missouri  to  their  old  hunting  grounds  in  Dakota.    In  August  General 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  327 

It  is  for  the  country  and  posterity  to  consider  the  moral 
effect  of  these  victories  and  chastisements  over  and  upon  the 
Sioux  Nation.  They  taught  this  warlike  people,  wh#  deemed 
themselves  the  unconquerable  masters  of  the  territory,  as 
they  were  in  fact  the  terror  of  the  plains,  and  of  other  tribes, 
that  the  strong  arm  of  the  government  could  reach  them,  and 
that  their  fancied  immunity  from  punishment  was  a  dream. 
It  is  also  for  the  country  and  posterity  to  compare  Sibley  in 
the  halls  of  Congress  defending  the  red  man's  right,  with 
Sibley  on  the  field  of  battle  visiting  the  red  man's  wrong. 
No  inconsistency  is  here.  The  faithful  voice  uplifted  in  the 
house  of  representatives,  to  warn  the  government  against  the 
coming  wrath,  was  entitled  on  the  coteau  of  Missouri  to  give 
the  order  to  fire  upon  the  Indian.  Circumstances  alter  cases, 
and  the  soldier  here  was  no  less  honorable  than  was  the 
statesman  valiant  there.  From  first  to  last,  the  conflict  be- 
tween the  Indian  and  the  white  man  has  been  that  of  race 
and  acquisition.  And  the  great  problem  involved  is  as  little 
to  be  solved  by  the  sword  on  the  one  hand,  as  by  legislation 
on  the  other.  In  either  case,  the  issues  sought,  viz.,  peace, 
concord,  and  amity,  are  to  be  gained  only  by  "the  rule  that 
makes  for  righteousness."  The  folly  of  the  state  may  pro- 
voke massacre  and  murder,  robbery  and  arson,  and  atrocities 
untold,  which  the  sword  of  the  state  is  bound  to  avenge.  The 
madness  of  the  nation,  bent  on  conquest,  and  spurred  by 
avarice,  injustice,  and  cruelty,  may  crush  to  the  earth  the 
inalienable  rights  of  man,  belie  its  own  ''declaration"  of  the 
same,  and  force  an  arbitrament  by  blood.  But  a  final  deci- 
sion, short  of  "extermination"  of  the  weaker  by  the  stronger, 
can  never  be  elfected.  The  sword  and  violated  faith  may 
secure  a  temporary  truce,  only  to  be  followed  by  a  new 
revenge  and  a  re-enacted  scene  of  horror.  Japhet,  resting 
on  an  oracle  that  ordains  him  to  iDossession  in  the  tents  of 
Shem,  may  justify  himself  with  the  dictum  that  "an  inferior 
must  yield  to  a  superior  race,"  proclaim  "God's  law  of 
eternal  progress"  and  teach  that  a  divine  decree  excuses  from 


Sully  chastised  them  severely,  at  the  headwaters  of  the  James  river,  and  again  in  Septem- 
ber, five  hundred  miles  north  of  Fort  Pierre,  at  the  battle  of  White  Stone  Hills.  Their  loss 
was  over  200. killed  and  wounded,  with  135  taken  prisoners.  General  Sully's  loss  was  21 
killed  and  30  wounded.  Between  Generals  Sibley  and  Sully  over  500  Indians  were  killed 
and  wounded,  and  nearly  2,500  taken  prisoners,  their  camps  and  entire  subsistence  twice 
entirely  destroyed.  The  blow  was  a  fearful  and  remediless  one.  The  massacre  of  1862 
was  awfully  avenged. 


328  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

the  human  guilt  by  which  it  is  accomplished.^  But  "right 
is  right  as  God  is  God,"  and  no  enduring  foundation  of 
national^rosperity,  or  security  from  judgment,  can  ever  be 
laid  strong  enough  to  avert  divine  displeasure,  or  resist  the 
assaults  of  time,  save  that  of  righteousness;  —  that  "Jms" 
which  a  Eoman  orator  assures  us  is  the  ^^fundariientum  socie- 
tatis^'  and  the  ^^monumentum  gloria}^ ^  for  any  people.  "Dead 
for  want  of  righteousness"  is  the  epitaph  on  the  tombstone  of 
every  extinct  empire.  And,  as  to  the  sad  discipline  of  life, 
through  which,  in  the  discharge  of  duty,  all  must  pass,  and 
the  home  sanctities  and  loves  that  death  so  rudely  invades, 
the  awaiting  splendor  of  the  end  will  more  than  compensate 
for  the  anguish  of  the  way.  To  us,  short-sighted  as  we  are, 
the  future  still  stands  veiled.  But  love  and  sorrow,  more 
than  gladness,  transfigure  the  forms  of  our  dear  departed 
ones  with  a  beauty  time  cannot  change,  and  perpetuate  an 
affection  safe  forever  from  disruption.  In  the  magic  of  that 
mirror,  we  behold  what  to  the  eye  of  sense  is  unseen,  and 
learn  the  fact  that 

"To  death  it  is  given 
To  show  how  this  world  is  embosomed  in  heaven."^ 

If,  in  coming  years,  the  trumpet  shall  again  sound  to 
arms,  and  soldiers  of  Minnesota  march  to  its  note,  in  the 
inner  history  of  General  Sibley's  campaigns  they  will  find 
sujjport  in  their  bereavement  and  an  example  of  heroic  forti- 
tude in  suffering,  worthy  of  a  Regulus,  and  of  virtue  equal  to 
that  of  a  Cimon  or  Timoleon. 

"Were  it  not  that  various  writers,  in  their  discussions  of  the 
"Indian  problem,"  have  indulged  in  a  strain  of  remark  dis- 
couraged by  every  Christian  sentiment,  and  openly  advocated 
the  philosophy  of  "extermination  "  as  its  only  effective  solu- 
tion, we  might  dismiss  this  part  of  our  work  without  further 
protraction.  But  justice  and  truth  alike  claim  to  be  heard  in 
a  matter  of  such  importance  not  less  to  the  nation  than  to  the 
Indian  himself.  Especially  now,  even  in  our  own  time  (1889), 
after  such  sad  experience,  and  in  view  of  negotiations  now 
l)en(ling  to  ojx'ii  the  Sioux  reservation  in  Dakota,  for  the  sake 
ol'  raiii-oads  and  civilization,  is  this  claim  imperative. ^     It  is 

1  }{ryantN  Iniliari  MjiKHiurre,  p.  ■tO.'i. 

2  Tin:  efl'ortH  uiadu  of  lute  to  open  up,  peacefully  if  possible,  the  preat  Sioux  Reservation 
in  T'akotn,  lo  railroads  and  the  indux  of  white  pojiulation,  have  at  length  proved  successful. 
August  !i,  \HH'J,  after  a  long  struggle,  all  the  .Sioux  chiefs,  save  Sitting  Hull,  surrendered  to 
the  means  and  arts  uade  use  of  to  persuade  them  to  sign  the  new  treaty,  and  accept  what 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  329 

largely  asserted  that  the  civilization  of  savage  tribes,  in  con- 
tact with  a  race  superior  to  themselves  in  mental  and  physical 
endowment,  is  a  "wild  dream  of  the  imagination,"  a  "vain 
scheme  of  philanthropy  "  impossible  of  realization,  a  "  failure 
in  every  case,"  and  that  "God's  written  law  of  progress" 
dooms  to  extinction  the  tribes  that  refuse  to  submit  to  the 
white  man's  modes  of  life  and  forms  of  social  existence.  It 
may,  at  once,  be  replied  that  whatever  mail's  law  of  progress 
may  be,  GocVs  law  of  progress  is  not  one  of  injustice  and 
crime.  What  the  causes  of  failure  to  civilize  the  red  man 
are,  seems  matter  for  silence,  perhaps  for  the  reason  that  the 
same  would  be  equally  strong  in  the  case  of  the  white  man 
himself  under  similar  circumstances.  Every  way  in  which 
it  can  be  taken,  the  theory  is  incorrect,  and  the  sentiment 
to  be  deplored.  It  is  repelled  by  the  best  ethnologists.  It  is 
simply  an  assertion  that,  unless  the  red  man  submits  to  the 
civilization  of  the  white  man,  such  as  he  sees  it,  and  feels  it, 
and  knows  it,  to  be,  he  is  proj)er  game  for  the  government, 
and  a  proper  target  for  the  immigrant.  These  are  the  plain 
alternatives.  It  is  an  argument  that  mocks  every  appeal 
against  the  permission  of  wrong  to  the  noblest  precedents 
of  history,  and  the  better  genius  of  our  American  institutions; 
a  palpable  inconsistency  and  a  self-convicting  folly.  By  such 
reasoning,  the  negro  races  abroad  were  first  condemned  to 
a  curse  eternal,  not  limited  by  advancing  Christianity,  nor 
meliorated  by  the  sentiment  of  a  common  brotherhood.  It 
was  taught  that  the  perpetual  chattel  bondage  of  the  black 
man  was  a  divine  decree,  and  the  African  slave  trade  —  held 
by  all  nations  to  be  "piracy  on  the  high  seas" — was  a  "be- 
nignant system  of  emigration,"  and,  withal,  a  "providen- 
tial missionary  enterprise."  A  similar  shibboleth  was  that 
of  mediaeval  Christendom  which  rang  "anathema"  over  the 

the  government  oflfered,  per  acre,  for  their  lands.  Chief  Gall,  who  was  field  general  of  the 
Indians  in  the  Custer  campaign,  John  Grass,  and  others  of  prominence,  affixed  their 
names  to  the  treaty,  and,  the  requisite  number  of  signatures  having  been  obtained,  the 
treaty  is  closed,  and  11,000,000  of  acres  of  land  have  now  become  the  property  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  are  thrown  open  to  the  inflowing  immigration.  The  Indian  chiefs  resisted  until 
they  became  satisfied  that  the  government  "could  take  the  land  for  nothingif  it  wanted  to," 
then  consented  to  sign.  In  the  words  of  Gall,  speaking  regretfully,  after  he  had  yielded, 
"  The  whites  have  now  got  our  lands,  and  I  hope  they  will  be  satisfied,  and  let  us  live  in 
peace  in  the  future."  John  Grass,  long  opposing,  at  last  consented,  suddenly,  professing  a 
desire  to  favor  the  civilization  of  the  Indians.  Sitting  Bull  was  obstinate  to  the  last,  saying, 
"Don't  talk  to  me  about  Indians.  There  are  no  Indians  left.  Excepting  my  band  of  Unca- 
papas  they  are  all  dead,  and  those  wearing  the  clothing  of  warriors  are  only  squaws.  I  am 
sorry  for  my  followers  who  have  been  defeated,  and  their  lands  taken  from  them." — St.  Paul 
Daily  Globe,  August  6, 1889. 


330  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

heads  of  the  Jews,  expelled  them  from  every  Christian  nation 
under  heaven,  and  whelmed  them,  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren together,  20,000  at  a  time,  in  the  Mediterranean  sea, 
because  refusing  to  adopt  ^^  our^^  Christianity,  and  '■^our''^  civi- 
lization. In  like  strain,  erudite  men,  glorifying  civilization 
as  a  transformed  tribal  existence,  some  ancient  lines  of  it  still 
lingering  among  us,  in  the  marriage  relation,  and  belief  in  a 
future  state,  ventilate  the  doctrine  that  no  sanctity  attaches 
to  the  immemorial  rights,  life,  and  wigwam,  of  the  red  man, 
nor  to  the  person  of  his  wife  or  squaw,  forgetful  of  the  fact 
that  our  Aryan  forefathers  were  savages  as  cruel  as  were  ever 
Camanches,  Ojibwas,  or  Dakotas,  who  sport  the  eagle-plume 
and  the  scalping  knife,  or  worship  the  old  ancestral  totem. 
The  better  mind  revolts  from  this  whole  philosophy  of  exter- 
mination. The  fresh-made  robe  of  "  ou/- "  civilization  will  not 
be  instantly  donned  by  men  through  whose  blood  oriental 
sunlight  streams.  History,  moreover,  is  the  constant  record 
of  all  physical,  intellectual,  moral,  religious,  political,  social, 
civil,  and  material  progress,  and  he  is  a  superficial  reader  who 
has  not  yet  learned  that  the  course  of  every  nation  that  has  a 
history  has  been  from  barbarism,  through  painfully  slow  and 
various  degrees,  to  a  better  condition.  "Savage  tribes  may 
remain  long  unimproved,  but  let  the  more  civilized  nations 
come  in  contact  with  them,  and  they  soon  learn  such  arts  as 
conduce  to  their  gradual  improvement,  together  with  such 
practices  and  indulgences  as  injure  rather  than  profit  them. 
Even  while  copying  the  crimes  and  vices  of  the  superior  race, 
they  step  forward  out  of  their  savage  environment.  The  ap- 
pliances of  education,  the  extension  of  law  over  them,  assist- 
ance, kindness,  justice,  and  truth,  elevate  them  and  prepare 
them  for  a  higher  history  than  ever  before  enjoyed."  A  cham- 
pion of  this  doctrine  was  General  Sibley  himself. 

On  the  other  hand,  history  tells  the  mournful  story  of  civi- 
lized nations,  cursed  by  their  love  of  conquest,  wealth,  luxury, 
and  deepening  destruction,  falling  back,  with  a  rapid  step, 
from  a  liigli  d(;gree  of  perfection,  before  their  less  civilized,  and 
even  barbarous,  invaders.  So  Greece  fell  before  the  arms  of 
Home,  as  did  Rome,  in  her  turn,  before  German,  Scythian, 
and  African  liordes.  A  propliet  of  Israel  foretold  the  rise  of 
that  (empire,  tlie  mightiest  the  world  has  known,  from  the 
outcast  l)arbarous  tril)es  of  Latiuui,  stretching  its  wide  do- 
minion to  the  walls  of  liabylon  and  the  banks  of  the  Tigris. 


HON.   HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,   LL.D.  331 

Not  less  did  his  glance  foresee  the  unsuspected  decay  and  fall 
of  the  same  empire,  sapped  by  its  own  corruptions,  a  prey  to 
still  other  barbarian  hordes,  avenging  a  thirst  for  dominion 
marked  by  successive  wars,  not  in  defense  of  the  empire,  but 
for  enlargement  of  power  and  possession  already  too  great. 
The  judgments  of  Heaven  are  a  part  of  "God's  law  of  prog- 
ress" to  punish  the  crimes  of  "man's  law  of  progress;"  and, 
to  carry  the  account  of  man's  crimes  over  to  the  credit  of  God's 
law,  in  the  name  of  Christian  civilization,  is  not  only  a  very 
unstatesmanlike  thing,  but  it  is  an  infidel  theory  of  human 
progress  which  postulates  the  vindication  of  man  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  condemnation  of  God.  It  is  not  true  that  the 
race  inferior  in  civilization  must  yield  to  the  race  superior. 
Barbarians  conquered  both  Greece  and  Eome,  the  two  most 
civilized  of  all  the  nations  of  antiquity.  "God's  law  of  eter- 
nal progress"  is  something  more  than  a  Spanish  bull-fight. 
It  is  a  moral  law  which,  as  Matthew  Arnold  says,  "  makes  for 
righteousness,"  a  "moral  order  of  the  universe,"  as  Fichte 
called  it,  and  reveals  itself  by  judgment  no  less  than  by  bless- 
ing. He  gives  to  barbarous  tribes  the  abused  favors  he  dis- 
pensed to  the  civilized  nations  smitten  before  them.  Goth, 
Vandal,  and  Hun,  learned  all  that  Eome  could  bestow,  even  as 
Eome  sat  at  the  feet  of  Greece  to  study  philosophy,  science, 
and  art.  While  barbarism  has  become  civilized,  civilization 
has  become  barbarized.  The  Indian  becomes  a  Christian  and 
ceases  to  scalp.  The  Christian  becomes  a  savage,  scalps,  pays 
bounty  for  scalps,  and  treasures  his  trophies  of  shame  in  places 
of  public  resort.  In  a  community  nursing  the  pleasure  of 
such  things,  Eeligion  can  have  no  power,  and  Truth  no  place. 
Humanity  becomes  inhuman.  Progress  is  turned  back,  Civiliza- 
tion is  ashamed.  Faith  scarcely  can  lift  up  her  eyes,  and  Hope 
seems  quenched  in  rayless  night.  Hard-hearted  Mammon, 
degrading  Mammon  alone,  will  rule,  and  Conscience  and  God 
go  to  the  ditch.  The  doctrine  of  extermination  is  that  of  the 
Black  Flag,  of  Ghoorkas,  and  Bashi-Bazouks,  the  doctrine  of 
cruelty,  lies,  injustice,  perjury,  perfidy,  fraud,  and  brute  force, 
as  the  measure  of  right  between  man  and  man.  It  was  the 
maxim  of  blood-stained  Eome, — ^^ Spare  the  submissive,  destroy 
the  resisting,'''' — a  maxim  whereby  it  became  necessary,  in  every 
quarrel,  to  conquer  or  perish,  and,  by  these  alternatives,  bind 
the  empire  either  to  die  or  subdue  mankind.  Xo  state  has  a 
right  to  make  the  submission  of  men,  outside  its  lawful  juris- 


332  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

diction,  a  necessary  condition  of  their  preservation.  The  doc- 
trine that  '■'■  Might  makes  righV  annihilates  the  possibility  of 
a  moral  judgment  on  nations,  the  vindication  of  national  chas- 
tisement, and  sets  the  Most  High,  as  a  Moral  Governor,  in  fiat 
contradiction  with  himself.  Competent  statesmen  will  not 
accept  it  as  "God's  law  of  eternal  progress."  A  Pitt,  Sheri- 
dan, and  Fox  flamed  against  it.  A  Webster,  Choate,  Sumner, 
and  Wilberforce  publicly  denounced  it.  A  race  is  not  to  be 
exterminated  because  its  capital  criminals  deserve  such  a  fate, 
nor  is  the  Indian  a  "Canaanite"  doomed  to  extinction  by  a 
divine  command.  When  Christian  brutality,  worse  than  In- 
dian savagery,  and  civilized  mammon  and  lust,  disappear, 
some  hope  will  remain  for  "o»/-"  civilization,  and  the  red 
man,  one  day,  will  adorn  the  bench  of  justice,  and  stand  erect 
in  the  halls  of  Congress.  The  effective  bond  of  all  progress  is 
not  the  ^^parcere  subject  is,  deheUarerebellatis,^'  but  the  common 
implanted  feeling  of  humanity,  the  '■^  Homo  sum^^  that  recog- 
nizes a  kinship  in  all  nations  of  men  God  has  made  to  dwell 
on  all  the  face  of  the  earth,  appointing  their  bounds  and  times, 
and  the  disregard  of  which  is  the  death  of  all  those  nobler 
sentiments  which  lift  their  voices  to  tell  the  Fatherhood  of 
God,  and  extend  their  hands  to  build  the  brotherhood  of  man. 
And  the  quicker  our  "American  Christian  civilization"  ceases 
to  be  a  system  of  national  freebootery  and  blood-curdling  cru- 
elty toward  the  Indians,  the  better  it  will  be. 

Little  here  need  be  said  of  Little  Crow.  He  was  the  eldest- 
born  son  of  Little  Crow,  Sr.,  chief  of  the  Kaposiaband,  ad- 
jacent to  St.  Paul,  and  hereditary  successor  to  his  father's 
chieftainship.  Instructed  by  his  dying  father  to  accommodate 
himself  to  the  new  system  of  things,  assume  the  habits  of 
civilized  life,  abstain  from  war  with  the  whites  who  were 
determined  to  have  the  land,  and  against  whom  it  was  useless 
to  contend,  as  also  to  live  a  sober  life,  and  by  honest  industry 
provide  for  himself  and  his  tribe,  he  yet  disregarded  these 
dying  admonitions.  A  few  miles  north  of  Hutchinson,  while 
l)icking  Ix'i-i'ies  near  one  of  the  Scattered  Lakes,  July  3,  1862, 
—  the  day  General  Sibley  was  near  Ink-pah  at  the  Coteau  de 
Prairie,  not  far  from  the  bend  of  the  Cheyenne  river, — he  was 
shot  dead  by  Mr.  Chauncy  Lampson,  unconscious  that  it  was 
^^  Ta-wai-o  ta-doo-iaW^  his  riile-ball  had  pierced.  No  better, 
briefer,  or  more  comprehensive  description  of  his  character 
can  be  given  tlian  that  furnished  by  General  Sibley  to  the 


HON.  HENRY    HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  333 

Minnesota  Historical  Society.  "Little  Crow,  Jr.,  soon  forgot 
the  parting  injunctions  of  his  father.  He  was  a  drunkard,  a 
confirmed  liar,  and  possessed  of  very  few  redeeming  qualities; 
a  man  of  great  energy  and  determination.  He  was  the  lead- 
ing spirit  of  the  pagan  Indians,  bitterly  opposing  all  changes 
of  dress  and  habits  of  life.  He  was  no  friend  to  missionary 
operations  but  clung  to  the  superstitious  observances  of  his 
fathers.  The  latter  part  of  his  life  is  known  to  most  of  you. 
He  encouraged  the  Indians  in  the  prosecution  of  their  bloody 
work  in  1862,  was  the  acknowledged  head  of  the  war  party, 
and,  finally,  in  1863,  while  engaged  with  a  small  band  in  a 
raid  upon  our  frontiers,  was  shot  dead  by  a  Mr.  Lampson,  his 
sou  who  was  with  him  ojily  escaping  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
a  detachment  of  the  troops  under  my  command  near  Devil's 
lake,  a  few  weeks  later.  It  is  my  conviction  that  no  outbreak 
would  have  occurred,  had  either  Wabashaw,  or  Little  Crow, 
Sr.,  been  living  at  the  time."^  His  scalp  and  arm-bones,  not 
to  the  credit  of  "Christian  civilization,"  or  the  "culture"  of 
the  "superior  race,"  are  trophied  in  the  shelves  of  the  State 
Historical  Society,  in  the  capitol,  for  the  satisfaction  of  the 
curiosity,  and  the  peculiar  inspiration,  of  all  beholders.  All 
that  is  redeeming  in  humanity  j)rotests  against  the  acquisition; 
a  spectacle  which  can  only  feed  the  temper  of  a  barbarous 
mindf  and  excite  the  moral  disgust  of  every  man,  unblunted 
by  a  spirit  of  revenge.  The  perpetual  exhibition  of  such 
relics,  in  a  state  capitol  on  whose  dome  the  figure  of  Justice, 
with  her  scales, — weighing  not  less  the  white  man's  crimes 
than  the  red  man's  wrongs, — seems  to  hold  an  even  account, 
is  disgraceful  to  "Christian  civilization."  For  the  sake  of 
Ma-ya  ku-tama-ne,  Ta-o-pee,  and  "VVa-ke-wan-wa,  if  not  for 
Minne-sota,  let  these  relics  be  removed!  ^ 

1  Coll.  Minn.  State  Hist.  Society,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  233,  254. 

2  It  remains  as  a  slain  in  American  "Christian  history,"  that  the  government  of  Massa- 
chusetts otlered  large  bounties  for  Indian  scalps,  that  Minnesota  ofTered  $25,  S7o,  and  S200 
under  the  adjutant  general's  order,  "  for  every  Sioux  scalp,"  and  that  the  United  States 
offered  S200  for  "every  .Seminole  scalp,"  taken  in  the  Seminole  War.  Special  inducements 
were  also  oflfered,  in  Minnesota,  to  scour  the  Big  Woods,  and  "  lay  the  trophies  at  the  feet 
of  the  Historical  Society,"  scalps,  bones,  and  trinkets  made  out  of  bones  of  human  beings  ! 
The  first  scalp  taken  by  a  white  man  under  the  S25  offer,  in  Minnesota,  was  that  of  Little 
Croii:  (Dakota  War- Whoop,  p.  319.)  It  seems  certain  that  General  Sibley,  although  his  heart 
was  "  steeled"  against  the  criminals  of  1862,  could  not  approve  of  the  scalp  and  arm-bono 
use  of  Little  Crow,  the  "trophy^'  that  now  sits  on  the  shelf  of  the  State  Historical  Library. 
When  learning  that  his  own  troops  had  scalped  the  dead,  he  issued  a  sharp  military  order 
forbidding  it,  and  exclaimed,  "Shame  upon  such  brutality  !  God's  image  should  not  be  thus 
mutilated  and  disfigured  !" — Diary,  p.  69. 


CHAPTER  X. 

GENEEAL  SIBLEY'S  POST-MILITAEY  CAREER. —  MULTIPLIED  HOXORS  AND 
OFFICES  OF  TRUST. —  CONFIRMATION  OF  HIS  RANK  AS  BRIGADIER  GEN- 
ERAL, UNITED  STATES  VOLUNTEERS.  —  HIGH  COMMENDATIONS  FROM 
EMINENT  SOLDIERS  AND  CIVILIANS. —  BREVETTED  MAJOR  GENERAL, 
UNITED  STATES  VOLUNTEERS. —  NOT  MUSTERED  OUT  OF  MILITARY  SEE- 
VICE  TILL  1886. —  MIXED  CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  COMMISSION  TO  NE- 
GOTIATE INDIAN  TREATIES,  AT  COUNCIL  BLUFFS  AND  SIOUX  CITY. — 
ANOTHER  SIMILAR  COMMISSION.— .GENERAL  SIBLEY,  PRESIDENT  GAS 
COMPANY,  PRESIDENT  MINNESOTA  MUTUAL  LIFE  INSURANCE,  PEES- 
*IDENT  ST.  PAUL  CITY  BANK.  PEESIDENT  CHAMBEE  OF  COMMEECE, 
EESIGNATION  OF  THE  PRESIDENCY  OF  THE  CHAMBER,  PRESIDENT 
BOARD   OF   REGENTS  OF   STATE  UNIVERSITY. 

STATE  BONDS  AGAIN. —  PERPLEXING  FACTOR  IN  STATE  POLITICS.  —  RESUME 
OF  THE  SITUATION.  —  MISREPRESENTATIONS.  —  REPUDIATION.  —  DE- 
FENSE OF  REPUDIATION. — DEMOEALIZATION  OF  THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE 
STATE.  —  MAGNIFICENT  EESISTANCE  TO  THIS  BY"  GENERAL  SIBLEY^  — 
GOVERNOR  MARSHALL.  —  FIRST  SCHEME  FOR  LIQUIDATION.  —  POLITI- 
CIANS AND  THE  HONOR  OF  THE  STATE. —  LIGHTNING  FROM  GENERAL 
SIBLEY.  —  HE  APPEALS  TO  THE  CHUECHES  AND  THE  PULPIT. —  BUENING 
WOEDS. —  JUSTICE  CURTIS. —  HON.  W.  M.  EVAETS. —  ATTOENEY  GEN- 
EEAL.—  GOVEENOE  AUSTIN.  —  EVASIVE  SCHEME  OF  SUBMITTING  LEG- 
ISLATIVE ACTS  TO  THE  PEOPLE  WHO  HAD  ALREADY  REPUDIATED. — 
GENERAL  SIBLEY  ELECTED  TO  THE  STATE  LEGISLATURE,  OCTOBER, 
1870. —  HIS  RESOLUTION  INTRODUCED  FEBRUARY'  4,  1871. —  HIS  GREAT 
SPEECH  ON  THE  BOND  QUESTION,  FEBRUARY  8,  1871,  IS  COPIED  IN  THE 
EASTERN  PAPERS. —  SEVENTEEN  PRESIDENTS  OF  DIFFERENT  NEW  Y'ORK 
CITY-  BANKS,  AND  THIRTY  LEADING  FIRMS,  SEND  LETTERS  OF  CON- 
GRATULATION AND  THANKS. —  STATE  LEGISLATURE  MOVED  TO  ACTION. 

—  GOVERNOR  C.  K.  DAVIS  AND  GOVERNOR  PILLSBUEY"  ON  EEPUDIA- 
TION.  —  JUDGE  DILLON  ON  THE  VALIDITY  OF  THE  BONDS.  —  SUPREME 
COUET  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. —  DECISION  OF  THE  SUPEEME  COUET  OF 
THE  STATE  OF  MINNESOTA. —  ATTITUDE  OF  THE  DEMOCEATIC  AND  EE- 
PUBLICAN  PAETIES  TOWAED  THIS  QUESTION  IN  1881. —  DEMOCEATIC 
STATE  CONVENTION.  —  THE  PLATFOEM.  —  EEMAEKS  BY  GENEEAL  E.  W. 
JOHNSON,  THE  NOMINEE.  —  EEMAEKS  BY  HON.  EUGENE  M.  WILSON. — 
THE  EXTEA  EEPUBLICAN  LEGISLATUEE.  —  FINAL  SETTLEMENT  OF  THE 
BOND  QUESTION. —  EEFLECTIONS  ON  THE  MOEAL  CHARACTER  OF  A 
STATE. —  MUST  HAVE  A  CONSCIENCE.  —  IS  A  PUBLIC  PERSON.  —  NAMES 
TO  UK  RE.ME.MBEEED. — ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  ETHICS.  —  THE  GOVERN- 
MKXT   OK  A  STATE.  —  POPULAR  CORRUPTION. —  INDIVIDUAL   FIDELITY. 

—  GENEEAL  SlIiLEY'S  EXAMPLE.  —  EETIEES  FROM  POLITICAL  LIFE. 
GENERAL  SIBLEY  AH  A  PRIVATE  CITIZEN. — ACCUMULATION  OF  HONORS  AND 

TRUSTS. —  PEESIDENT  OF  VARIOUS  ORGANIZATIONS  AND  INSTITUTIONS. 
— COMMISSION    TO    SUPEEVISE    THE    WHOLE    INDIAN    DEPAETMENT. — 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D,  335 

FELLOW  OF  AMERICAN  GEOGRAPHICAL  SOCIETY.  —  NOMINATED  AGAIN 
FOR  CONGRESS.  —  RETAINED  AS  PRESIDENT  OF  REGENTS  OF  THE  UNI- 
VERSITY.—  PRESIDENT  OAKLAND  CEMETERY  ASSOCIATION. —  ADDRESS 
BEFORE  THE  STATE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. —  COMMISSION  TO  SETTLE 
CHIPPEWA  CLAIMS.  —  PRESIDES  AT  BI-CENTENNARY  CELEBRATION  OF 
DISCOVERY  OF  FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY.  —  PRESIDES  AT  INAUGURAL 
BANQUET  TO  GOVERNOR  HUBBARD.  —  PRESIDENT  MINNESOTA  CLUB.— 
LECTURE  BEFORE  YOUNG  MEN'S  CILRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. —  EULOGY  ON 
GENERAL  GRANT;  FUNERAL  SERVICES.  —  SEMI-CENTENNIAL  OF  GEN- 
ERAL SIBLEY'S  ADVENT  TO  MINNESOTA. —  BANQUET. —  QUARTER-CEN- 
TENNIAL OF  BATTLE  OF  BIRCH  COOLIE.  —  BANQUET. —  ELECTED  AND 
INSTALLED  COMJIANDER  OF  THE  LOYAL  LEGION.  —  BANQUET.— ELECT- 
ED MEMBER  OF  THE  PRINCETON  CLIOSOPHIC  SOCIETY. —  HONORARY 
DEGREE  OF  "DOCTOR  OF  LAWS"  CONFERRED.  —  CORRESPONDENCE  AND 
CONGRATULATIONS. —  THE  DIPLOMA. —  UTTERANCES  OF  THE  PUBLIC 
PRESS.  —  RESOLUTION   BY    THE   UNIVERSITY. —  UNTARNISHED   HONORS. 

General  Sibley's  relief  from  the  arduous  labors  to  whicli 
he  had  been  called  in  defense  of  the  state,  during  his  military- 
career,  brought  with  it  a  more  tranquil  and  domestic  life,  yet 
none  the  less  active  in  national,  state,  and  municipal  affairs. 
The  city  of  St.  Paul,  as  we  have  seen,  was  his  permanent 
home,  where,  since  1862,  he  resided  amid  the  companionship 
of  his  friends.  Public  places  and  stations  of  responsibility 
ever  waited  to  welcome  him.  His  experience,  energy,  enter- 
prise, and  large  influence,  and  social  standing  as  well,  con- 
spired to  invite  him  to  honors  and  burdens  more  frequent  than 
usually  fall  to  the  lot  of  men.  As  already  stated,  the  con- 
firmation of  the  appointment,  twice  made  by  the  president, 
of  General  Sibley  as  brigadier  general,  for  meritorious  service 
in  the  field,  was  unavoidably  delayed  by  reason  of  the  action 
of  Congress  reducing  the  number  of  such  officers,  notwith- 
standing which,  however.  General  Sibley,  having  accepted 
the  honor  thus  twice  conferred,  continued  in  the  field  acting 
as  a  general  officer,  and,  recognized  as  such  by  the  govern- 
ment, accomplished  his  second  military  campaign  with  the 
signal  success  narrated.  For  a  time,  adverse  circumstances 
contributed  to  prevent  the  confirmation  of  the  appointment. 
On  motion  of  Charles  Sumner,  misled  and  deceived  in  his  ac- 
tion by  men  of  his  own  party,  it  was  laid  on  the  table.  The 
action,  however,  of  the  Minnesota  legislature,  and  of  the  citi- 
zens of  the  state,  as  also  the  high  commendation  by  Major 
General  Pope,  smote  this  disreputable  effort  of  certain  politi- 
cians, and  availed  to  undeceive,  at  Washington,  many  whose 
minds  had  unjustly  been  prejudiced.     To  the  credit  of  the 


336  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

Hon.  Charles  Sumner's  manhood  and  sense  of  justice,  when 
informed  by  Senator  Ramsey,  who  had  just  been  elected  and 
taken  his  seat,  of  what  General  Sibley  had  done,  and  how  un- 
merited was  the  effort  to  defeat  the  confirmation  of  his  ap- 
pointment, he  returned  to  the  senate,  and,  explaining  his  er- 
ror, while  emphasizing  the  distinguished  services  of  General 
Sibley,  on  motion  the  appointment  was  taken  up  from  the 
table  by  the  senate,  and  unanimously  confirmed.  March  26, 
1864,  the  formal  commission  of  General  Sibley  as  brigadier 
general  was  made  out,  his  reaffirmed  rank  being  retroactively 
dated  from  March  20,  1863,  thus  covering,  by  second  appoint- 
ment, not  only  his  second  campaign  but  the  whole  time  since 
the  "more  than  fifty  leading  business  firms  of  St.  Paul"  be- 
sought him,  by  open  letter,  not  to  retire  from  the  field,  March 
19,  1863.  The  official  announcement  of  this  was  telegraphed 
from  Washington,  by  General-in-Chief  Halleck  to  Major  Gen- 
eral Pope,  under  date  of  March  23,  1863,  the  date  of  General 
Sibley's  reply  to  the  business  firms  just  mentioned.^  The 
parchment  that  bears  the  commission  reads  as  follows: 

The  President  of  the  United  States  of  America  to  all  tvho  shall  see  these  presents, 
greeting: 

Know  ye,  That  reposing  special  trust  and  confidence  in  the  patriotism, 
valor,  fidelity,  and  abilities  of  Henry  H.  Sibley,  I  have  nominated,  and 
by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate,  do  appoint  him  brigadier 
general  of  volunteers  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  to  rank  as  sueh 
from  the  twentieth  day  of  March,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-three.  He  is, 
therefore,  carefully  aud  diligently  to  discharge  the  duty  of  brigadier  gen- 
eral by  doing  and  performing  all  manner  of  things  thereunto  belonging. 

And  I  do  strictly  charge,  and  require,  all  officers  and  soldiers  under  his 
command  to  be  obedient  to  his  orders  as  brigadier  general;  and  he  is  to 
observe  and  follow  such  orders  and  directions,  from  time  to  time,  as  he  shall 
receive  from  me,  or  the  future  president  of  the  United  States  of  America,  or 
the  general,  or  other  superior  officers  set  over  him,  according  to  the  rules 
and  discii)line  of  war.  This  commission  to  continue  in  force  during  the 
pleasure  of  the  president  of  the  United  States  for  the  time  lieing. 

Given  under  my  hand,  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  twenty-sixth  day 
of  March,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 
four,  and  in  the  eighty-eighth  year  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States. 

I'ly  the  President. 
(Signed,)     AimAHAJl  LINCOLN. 
(Signed,)     Kuwin  M.  Stanton, 

Seerctiirij  of  War. 


1    It.lx-llioii  UccordH,  Series  I,  Vol.  XXII,  I'iirl   II,  17r,;   Coll.  Minn.  Hist.  Soc,  Vol.  Ill, 
I'lirt  II   'JHl. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  337 

The  official  transmission  of  the  same  was  made  under  date 
of  April  28,  1864,  as  follows: 

Adjutant  General's  Office, 

Washington,  April  28,  1864. 

Sib:  I  forward  herewith  your  commission  of  brigadier  general,  your 
receipt  and  acceptance  of  which  you  will  please  acknowledge  without  delay, 
reporting  at  the  same  time  your  age  and  residence  when  appointed,  the  state 
where  born,  and  your  full  name,  correctly  written.  Fill  up,  subscribe,  and 
return  as  soon  as  possible,  the  accompanying  oath,  duly  and  carefully  exe- 
cuted.    I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully. 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

S.  F.  Chalfin, 
Assistant  Adjutant  General. 
Brigadier  General  Henry  H.  Sibley,  United  States  Volunteers,  St.  Paid,  Minn. 

The  acknowledgment  of  the  receipt  of  the  commission  was 
made  ten  days  thereafter. 

Headquarters  District  of  Minnesota, 

Department  of  the  Northwest, 

St.  Paul,  May  9,  1864. 

Brigadier  General  L.  Thomas,  Adjutant  General  United  States  Army,  Washing- 
ton City,  District  of  Columbia, 

General:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  my  com- 
mission of  brigadier  general  of  volunteers,  from  your  office. 

When  appointed,  I  was  fifty-two  years  of  age,  and  my  full  name  is 
Henry  Hastings  Sibley.  No  official  oath  accompanied  the  commission,  for 
the  reason,  probably,  that  when  I  received  the  letter  of  appointment  I  was 
required  to  return  the  blank  oath  sent  with  it,  properly  filled  and  executed, 
■which  was  done,  and  it  is  on  file  in  your  office.  I  am.  General,  very  respect- 
fully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

H.  H.  Sibley, 
Brigadier  General,  Commanding. 

May  2, 1865,  he  became  a  director  in  the  Minnesota  Valley 
Bailroad  Company,  whose  name  was  afterward  changed,  July 
9, 1869,  to  that  of  the  St.  Paul  &  Sioux  City  Eailroad  Company, 
and  in  whose  service  he  continued  until  1882.  The  memory 
of  his  high  merit,  however,  and  valuable  services,  not  only 
to  the  state  but  the  nation,  and  the  respect  in  which  he  was 
held  by  the  different  military  bureaus  at  Washington,  com- 
manded for  him,  in  view  of  still  higher  position,  the  warmest 
and  weightiest  commendations,  and  inspired  the  purpose  to 
see  that  such  merit  was  duly  rewarded.  From  Fort  liandall, 
Dakota  Territory,  Major  General  Curtis,  under  date  of  Sep- 
tember 29,  1865, — and  from  St.  Louis,  under  date  of  November 

22 


338  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

7, 1865,  Major  General  Pope, — and,  again,  from  St.  Paul,  under 
date  of  October  12, 1865,  Governor  (Senator  elect)  Ramsey,  all 
addressed  special  communications  and  indorsements  to  Major 
General  Halleck,  urging,  in  the  most  flattering  terms  and 
the  strongest  manner,  the  appointment  of  General  Sibley  as 
^'Brevet  Major  General,  United  States  Volunteers,"  "in  view 
of  his  distinguished  services  in  the  Indian  campaigns  of  1862 
and  1863,"  also,  "in  view  of  valuable  services  to  the  general 
government,"  and,  besides,  in  view  of  "his  economical  and 
judicious  administration  of  the  military  district  of  Minnesota, 
which  for  three  years  he  has  commanded,"  and,  finally,  "for 
his  devotion  to  the  country."  Notwithstanding  every  effort 
made  by  political  partisans,  and  certain  officials  of  the  Indian 
department  of  the  state,  whom  General  Sibley  had  looked  after 
with  his  usual  conscientious  regard,  much  to  their  disappoint- 
ment, official  notification  that  the  high  distinction,  sought  for 
him,  had  been  conferred  by  the  president  of  the  United  States, 
reached  his  hands,  in  the  form  of  the  following  document: 

Wak  Depaktment, 
Washington,  November  29,  1865. 
SlE:  You  are  hereby  informed  that  the  president  of  the  United  States 
has  appointed  you,  for  efficient  and  meritorious  services,  a  major  general  of 
volunteers,  by  brevet,  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  to  rank  as  such 
from  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  November,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sixty-five.  Should  the  senate,  at  their  next  session,  advise  and  consent 
thereto,  you  will  be  commissioned  accordingly. 

Immediately  on  receipt  hereof,  please  to  communicate  to  this  depart- 
ment, through  the  adjutant  general  of  the  army,  your  acceptance  or  non- 
acceptance;  and,  with  your  letter  of  acceptance,  return  the  oath  herewith 
inclosed,  properly  filled  up,  subscribed  and  attested,  and  report  your  age, 
birthplace,  and  the  state  of  which  you  were  a  permanent  resident. 

You  will  report  for  duty  to 

Edwin  M.  Stanton, 

Secretary  of  War. 
Brevet  Major  General  Henry  H.  Sibley,  United  States  Volunteers. 

The  acceptance  of  the  appointment  was  duly  acknowledged 
by  General  Sibley: 

St.  Paul,  Minn.,  December  14,  1865. 
Brevet  Major  General  L.  Thomas,  Adjutant  General  United  States  Army,  Wash' 

inf/ton  City,  D.  C, 

Gkneeal:  I  have  the  honor  to  notify  the  war  department,  through 
you,  of  my  acceptance  of  the  appointment  of  major  general  by  brevet,  con- 
ferred upon  me  by  the  president  twenty-ninth  November,  1865. 

I  was  Ijorn  in  Detroit,  Michigan,  ray  age  is  fifty-four,  and  I  am  a  resi- 
dent of  the  State  of  Minnesota.     Herewith  I  respectfully  return  the  oath  of 


HON.  HENEY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  339 

office  duly  filled  up,  subscribed  and  attested.  I  was  assigned  to  duty  as 
commissioner  to  treat  with  tlie  hostile  Indians  of  the  Upper  Missouri,  by 
Special  Order,  No.  450,  dated  August  21,  1865,  from  the  war  department, 
and  am  now  awaiting  further  instructions  from  the  honorable  secretary  of 
the  interior.     Very  respectfully. 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

Henry  H.  Sibley, 
Brevet  Major  General,  United  States  Volunteers. 

The  senate,  at  its  next  session,  having  "advised"  and 
"consented"  to  the  appointment,  the  official  parchment,  de- 
claring and  attesting  the  honor  bestowed,  as  a  reward,  ^'for 
efficient  and  meritorious  services,'^  was,  after  the  customary  de- 
lay, received  by  General  Sibley,  bearing  date  April  7,  1866, 
the  commission,  however,  taking  effect  from  November  29, 

1865,  and  is  as  follows: 

Washington,  April  7,  1866. 
The  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  to  all  who  shall  see  these  presents, 

greeting  : 

Know  ye.  That  I  do  hereby  confer  on  Henry  H.  Sibley  of  the  United 
States  Volunteers,  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  by  and  with  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  senate,  the  rank  of  major  general  by  brevet,  in  said  service, 
to  rank  as  such  from  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  November,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-five,  for  efficient  and  meritorious 
services.  And  I  do  strictly  charge  and  require  all  officers  and  soldiers  under 
his  command,  to  obey  and  respect  him  accordingly.  And  he  is  to  observe  and 
follow  such  orders  and  directions,  from  time  to  time,  as  he  shall  receive  from 
me,  or  the  future  president  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  other  offi- 
cers set  over  him,  according  to  law,  and  the  rules  and  discipline  of  war. 
This  commission  to  continue  in  force  during  the  pleasure  of  the  president 
of  the  United  States  for  the  time  being. 

Given  under  my  hand  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  seventh  day  of 
April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-six, 
and  in  the  ninetieth  year  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States. 

By  the  President.  (Signed,)  Andrew  Johnson. 

(Signed,)  Edwin  M.  Stanton, 

Secretary  of  War. 

The  transmission  of  this  document  was  accompanied  by  the 
usual  note  from  the  adjutant  general's  office  at  "Washington: 

War  Department, 
Adjutant  General's  Office, 

Washington,  April  20,  1866. 
Sir:     I  have  the  honor  to  inclose  to  you,  herewith,  your  commission  of 
brevet  major  general,  the  receipt  of  which  please  acknowledge.     I  am  sir, 
very  respectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

J.  C.  Kelton, 
Assistant  Adjutant  General. 
Brevet  Major  General  Henry  H.  Silky,  United  States  Volunteers. 


340  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

The  acceptance  of  the  commission  was  duly  acknowledged, 
as  follows: 

St.  Paul,  Minn.,  April  30,  1866. 
Brigadier  General  L.  Thomas,  Adjutant  General  United  States  Army,  Washing- 
ton City,  D.  C, 

General:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  my  com- 
mission of  brevet  major  general.  United  States  Volunteers.  I  am,  General, 
very  respectfully.  Your  Obedient  Servant, 

Heney  H.  Sibley, 
Brevet  Major  General,  United  Slates  Volunteers. 

Major  General  Sibley  was  not  mustered  out  of  the  service 
until  late  in  1866,  along  with  others  whose  names  were  re- 
served, and  continued  by  the  government,  for  special  reasons. 
His  name  occurs  in  the  list  of  officers  "honorably  mustered 
out  of  the  service  of  the  United  States,"  under  date  of  Decem- 
ber 28,  1865,  according  to  "General  Orders,  No.  168,"  and 
among  whom  were  Generals  Rosecrans,  Sykes,  Custer,  Pleas- 
anton,  Johnson,  Sanborn,  McCook,  and  others,  brave  soldiers, 
who  had  deserved  well  of  their  country.  But,  so  far  as  relates 
to  General  Sibley,  the  order  was  "revoked"  by  "Special 
Orders,  No.  85,  1866,"  a  copy  of  which  was  immediately  for- 
warded, from  the  war  department,  to  General  Sibley  himself. 
It  was  the  following: 

Wae  Department, 
Adjutant  General's  Office, 
Washington,  February  24,  1866. 
Special  Orders,  No.  85. 

{Extract.) 
8.  By  direction  of  the  president,  the  muster  out  of  the  service  of  the 
United  States,  of  Brigadier,  and  Brevet  Jlajor,  General  H.  H.  Sibley,  United 
States  Volunteers,  to  date  January  15th,  as  directed  in  General  Orders, 
War  Department,  No.  168,  1865,  is  hereby  revoked,  and  the  instructions  to 
this  officer,  to  report  to  the  honorable  secretary  of  the  interior,  contained 
in  Special  Orders,  War  Department,  No.  450,  August  21,  1865,  are  still,  and 
will  be  regarded  as  having  continued,  in  force. 

By  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War. 

(Signed,)     E.  D.  Townsend, 
(Official.)  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 

W.  A.  NiciroLS, 

Assistant  Adjutant  General. 
General  Sihlry,  National  Hotel,   Washington,  D.  C. 

It  was  in  pursuance  of  the  same  policy,  on  the  part  of  the 
government,  that,  August  15,  1865,  General  Sibley,  prior  to 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  341 

the  receipt  of  his  formal  commission  as  major  general,  to 
which  rank,  however,  he  had  already  been  appointed,  was, 
with  others,  constituted  one  of  a  mixed  civil  and  military- 
commission,  by  President  Andrew  Johnson,  to  negotiate  trea- 
ties with  the  Sioux  and  Cheyennes  on  the  Upper  Missouri, 
and  also  with  other  tribes  of  Northwestern  Indians  of  disaf- 
fected and  hostile  disposition.  It  was  of  the  first  importance, 
in  such  a  commission  as  this,  that  General  Sibley,  known  to 
the  Indians  as  an  officer  of  high  rank  in  the  United  States 
service,  should  abide  still  in  that  service,  in  order  to  retain 
his  official  influence  over  the  tribes,  as  a  military  officer  act- 
ing in  the  name  of  the  government.  Hence  the  Special  Order, 
No.  85.  The  places  of  negotiation  were  Council  Bluffs  and 
Sioux  City.     The  official  document  is  the  following: 

Executive  Mansion, 

August  15,  1865. 
Newton  Edmunds,  governor  and  ex-offieio  superintendent  of  Indian 
affairs  of  Dakota  Territory,  Edward  B.  Taylor,  superintendent  of  Indian 
affairs  for  the  Northern  suj)erintendency,  Major  General  S.  R.  Curtis,  Briga- 
dier General  H.  H.  Sibley,  Henry  W.  Reed,  Oran  Guernsey,  are  hereby  ap- 
pointed commissioners  to  negotiate,  under  the  instructions  of  the  secretary 
of  the  interior,  a  treaty  or  treaties  with  the  several  tribes  of  Sioux  and 
Cheyenne  Indians  of  the  Upper  Missouri,  and  any  other  tribes  in  that  re- 
gion, who  have  recently  been  engaged  in  hostilities  with  the  United  States, 
but  who  are  now  anxious  to  make  peace. 

(Signed,)  Andrew  Johnson, 

President. 

The  official  notification  was  in  the  following  terms: 

Department  op  the  Interior, 
Washington,  District  of  Colubibia, 
August  15,  1865. 
Sir:     I  transmit,  herewith,  a  copy  of  an  order  of  the  president,  of  the 
fifteenth  instant,  appointing  certain  commissioners,  of  whom  you  are  one, 
to  negotiate,  under  instructions  of  the  secretary  of  the  interior,  treaties  with 
certain  Indian  tribes  therein  referred  to.     You  will  be  further  advised  as  to 
the  time  when,  and  the  place  where,  the  council  will  be  held.     I  am,  sir, 
very  respectfully. 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 
Jas.  Harlan, 

Secretary. 
Brigadier  General  H.  H.  Sibleif,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 

The  promptness  with  which  this  important  service  was 
executed  may  be  seen  from  the  telegrams  sent  to  General  Sib- 
ley, in  rapid  succession: 


342  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

[Telegram.  ] 
♦  St.  Paul,  Aug.  21,  1865. 

By  Telegraph  from  Washington,  21st,  1865. 
To  Brigadier  General  IT.  H.  Sibley: 

You  and  General  Curtis  are  detailed  by  the  president's  orders  to  nego- 
tiate treaty  with  Sioux  and  Cheyenne  Indians  of  Upper  Missouri.     Report 
by  letter  to  secretary  of  interior.     Orders  will  meet  you  at  St.  Louis.     Ac- 
knowledge receipt  by  telegraph.     By  order  of  the  secretary  of  war. 
(51  au  448  pd. )  R.  Williams, 

Adjutant. 

[Telegram.] 

St.  Paul,  Aug.  22,  1865. 
By  Telegraph  from  Washington,  Aug.  22,  1865. 
To  H.  E.  Sibley,  Brigadier  General: 

Meet  commission  to  treat  with  Northwestern  Indians  at  Council  Bluffs 
5th  Septr.     At  Sioux  City  on  the  10th. 

R.  B.  Vanvalkenburg, 
(17  au  225  pd.)  Assistant  Commissioner. 

[Telegram.  ] 

St.  Paul,  Aug.  26,  1865. 
By  Telegraph  from  Washington,  26th,  1865. 
To  Brigadier  General  Sibley: 

A  letter  to  Major  General  Curtis.  The  commission  will  meet  as  pro- 
posed. Make  the  eftbrt  to  be  present.  I  hope  you  will  be  able  to  join 
them.     General  Curtis  goes  to  St.  Louis. 

Ja8.  Haelan, 
(31  au  365  pd.)  Secretary. 

[Telegram.  ] 

St.  Paul,  30  Aug.,  1865. 
By  Telegraph  from  Washington,  30,  1865. 
To  U.  n.  Sibley: 

Yours  of  twenty-third  received.  You  will  join  the  commission  at  Coun- 
cil Bluffs  on  the  fifth,  or  Sioux  City  on  the  tenth  September,  as  may  suit 
your  convenience. 


Jas.  Haelan. 


(28  au  335  pd.) 


[Telegram.  ] 

St.  Paul,  August  31,  1865. 
By  Telegraph  from  St.  Louis,  30th  Aug.,  1865. 
To  Brii/fidicr  General  Sibley: 

General  Curtis  is  here  and  will  be  at  Coumil  lilulls  on  the  tenth  of  Sep- 
tember, at  Sioux  City  fifteentli  Septeml)er.  Expects  you  to  join  him.  Send 
scouts  to  notify  head  chief  of  Indians  to  be  at  Fort  Rice  on  the  fifteenth  (15) 
day  of  Oct<jber. 

Jno.  T.  Speague, 
(41  ja  378  pd.)  Colonel  and  Chief. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  343 

It  is  almost  needless  to  narrate  that  the  commission  dis- 
charged its  trust  successfully,  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
general  government,  the  treaties  made  being  ratified  by  the 
senate.  Of  the  value  of  General  Sibley's  services,  at  such  a 
time,  the  best  evidence  is  an  earnest  letter  from  Secretary 
Harlan,  the  following  winter,  February  13,  1866,  to  General 
Sibley,  urging  him  to  allow  himself  to  become  a  member  of 
still  another  commission  ^' to  complete  the  work  commenced 
last  autumn,  and,  if  possible,  conclude  treaties  with  all  the 
considerable  bands  not  treated  with  last  fall," — a  request  with 
which  General  Sibley  complied,  thus  continuing  to  serve  the 
government  in  positions  than  which  none  could  be  more  diflfi- 
cult  or  more  responsible. 

Still  other  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility  awaited 
him  in  the  city  he  had  made  his  home,  and  in  the  state  he 
had  served  so  well.  In  1867,  he  was  elected  president  of  the 
St.  Paul  Gas  Light  Company,  serving  continuously  for  twenty- 
three  years,  and  still  remains  daily  occupied  with  the  duties 
of  its  office.  Daring  the  same  year  he  was  also  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  Minnesota  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company  of  St. 
Paul,  afterward  consolidated  with  the  Northwestern  Mutual 
Life  Insurance  Company  of  Milwaukee.  April,  1869,  he  was 
elected  president  of  the  St.  Paul  City  Bank,  in  which  caj)acity 
he  served  till  January,  1873. 

In  March,  1870,  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  of  St.  Paul,  and  re-elected  in  1873,  serving  for 
the  years  1870-1872  and  1878-1880.  November  15,  1880,  he 
tendered  his  resignation  to  the  chamber  in  the  following  com- 
munication: 

St.  Paul,  November  15,  1880. 
To  the  Directors  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  City, 

Gentlemen  :  I  have  the  honor  hereby,  respectfully  to  resign  my  posi- 
tion as  president  of  the  St.  Paul  Chamber  of  Commerce.  Having  labored  at 
least  zealously  and  faithfully,  lo!  these  many  yeara,  here  and  elsewhere,  to 
promote  the  best  interests  of  this  city  and  of  the  state  at  large,  I  can  reason- 
ably claim  that  I  have  earned  a  discharge  from  further  active  service.  My 
private  affairs  have  meanwhile  suifered  from  inattention,  and  I  must  devote 
to  them  what  remains  of  my  time  before  "the  night  cometh  wherein  no 
man  can  work. ' ' 

I  beg  leave  to  express  to  you,  gentlemen,  and  to  others  vsith  whom  I 
have  associated  in  the  board,  my  thankful  acknowledgments  for  the  uni- 
form forbearance,  consideration,  and  respect  accorded  me  during  my  long 
term  of  service  as  presiding  officer  of  the  board  and  of  the  chamber.  Re- 
spectfully, Your  Friend  and  Fellow  Citizen, 

Henry  H.  Sibley. 


344  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,   AND  TIMES  OF 

The  proposed  resignation  excited  many  regrets  and  much 
interest  among  the  members  of  the  chamber,  one  motion  be- 
ing that  "the  resignation  be  not  accepted,  but  a  long  leave 
of  absence  be  granted;"  another  that  "in  view  of  General 
Sibley's  long  service,  enfeebled  health,  and  pressing  cares, 
the  resignation  be  accepted,  and  a  committee  of  three  be  ap- 
pointed to  prepare  resolutions  suitable  to  the  occasion."  The 
latter  motion  prevailed,  and  a  committee  consisting  of  Dr. 
Day,  James  Smith,  Jr.,  and  Governor  W.  E.  Marshall,  hav- 
ing been  assigned  to  the  duty  proposed,  reported,  the  follow- 
ing week,  November  23,  1880,  a  series  of  most  complimentary 
resolutions,  which,  after  remarks  made  upon  the  same,  were 
adoj)ted  unanimously,  the  members  of  the  chamber  rising  to 
their  feet  when  the  vote  was  taken.  On  motion  of  General 
Johnson,  the  report  of  the  committee  was  ordered  to  be  spread 
upon  the  records  of  the  chamber.  It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that, 
by  some  carelessness,  the  order  of  the  board  was  not  carried 
out,  and  these  important  resolutions  are  perhaps  lost.  What 
they  were  may  be  judged  from  the  character  of  the  remarks 
made  by  Governor  Marshall,  in  his  address  to  the  chamber 
when  the  resignation  of  General  Sibley  was  under  considera- 
tion, November  15th,  and  the  governor  was  made  a  member 
of  the  Committee  on  Eesolutions.  Speaking  with  warmth  and 
great  feeling,  he  said: 

''It  was  with  no  ordinary  emotion,  Mr.  President,  that  I  heard  the  letter 
of  General  Sihley  read,  tendering  his  resignation  of  the  office  of  president  of 
the  chamber.  If  it  were  just  to  him,  I  should  favor  an  extended  leave  of 
absence.  As  it  is  manifestly  his  sincere  wish  to  be  relieved  of  the  cares 
and  responsibilities  of  the  office,  I  think  his  wishes  should  be  acceded  to. 
General  Sibley  is  a  man  so  conscientious  and  punctilious  in  regard  to  every 
oilicial  duty,  that  he  would  not  feel  relieved  by  any  leave  of  absence.  It  is 
due  to  him  who  has  so  long  and  so  ably  served  the  public  that  now,  when 
impaired  health  and  advancing  age  admonish  him  to  lessen  his  burdens,  his 
wishes  should  be  regarded.  I  favor  the  motion  of  Dr.  Day,  that  the  letter 
of  resignation  should  go  to  an  appropriate  committee,  that  there  may  be 
fitting  expression,  in  resolutions,  or  otherwise,  of  the  regret  of  the  chamber 
at  the  .severance  of  official  relations  with  General  Sibley.  General  Sibley  is 
no  ordinary  man,  and  has  had  no  ordinary  history.  If  there  is  one  nuxu  of 
this  commonwealth, entitled  to  the  designation  of  its  first  citizen,  highest  in 
usefulness  and  foremost  in  the  esteem  and  the  affections  of  the  people  of  all 
cla8.se8  and  all  parties,  it  is  Henry  H.  Sibley,  who  holds,  and  who  is  alto- 
gether worthy  to  hold,  that  pre-eminence.  His  history  is  that  of  the  terri- 
tory and  state,  whose  first  delegate  in  Congress  and  first  governor  he  was. 
I  have  j)crsoiialIy  known  liiin  for  more  than  a  tliird  of  a  century,  and  been 
associated  witli  liini  in  ])nbli(;  bodies,  in  civil  and  military  life,  and  social 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  345 

and  business  relations,  and  I  bear  this  willing  testimony  that,  in  all  that 
constitutes  high  honor,  wise  and  just  counsel,  and  unsullied  integrity,  he 
stands  almost  or  quite  without  a  peer.  It  was  my  good  fortune  to  serve 
under  him  in  the  important  Indian  campaigns  of  1862  and  1863,  and  al- 
though there  were  some  criticisms  of  his  management  of  these  campaigns, 
I  believe  the  general  judgment  has  come  to  be  what  mine  was  at  that  time, 
that  the  deliverance  of  our  frontier,  the  rescue  of  the  captive  women  and 
children,  and  the  driving  of  the  hostiles  beyond  the  Missouri  and  the  Can- 
ada border,  where  they  have  ever  since  remained,  was  accomplished  more 
effectively  and  with  less  loss  of  life,  than  like  results  in  any  Indian  war 
in  our  national  history.  But  I  will  not  detain  the  chamber  with  an  ex- 
tended eulogy  of  one  who  is  so  well  known  and  so  justly  esteemed.  May 
he  be  spared  to  us  yet  many  years.  Under  the  constitution  of  the  chamber 
he  will  remain  an  honorary  member,  and  on  all  great  occasions  all  may  yet 
have  his  prudential  counsels  and  great  ability. ' ' 

In  1870,  he  was  also  appointed  by  Governor  Pillsbury,  as 
the  president  of  the  board  of  regents  of  the  State  Univer- 
sity, and  again  in  1873,  and  again  in  1876,  and,  so  on,  con- 
tinuously under  the  successive  executives  of  the  state,  holding 
this  position  of  honor  up  to  the  present  time.  In  the  dis- 
charge of  the  numerous,  varied,  and  onerous  duties  incident 
to  so  many  positions  of  trust.  General  Sibley's  life,  during  the 
seven  years  elapsing  from  1863  to  1870,  was  one  of  ceaseless 
activity,  engaged,  moreover,  as  a  public  spirited  citizen  in  the 
promotion  of  every  good  work,  as  a  private  citizen  enjoying 
the  companionship  of  his  friends,  as  a  father  the  endearments 
of  children  and  home,  and  as  a  man,  relieving,  wherever  he 
could,  the  wants  of  the  poor. 


The  times,  however,  were  not  without  their  agitations,  and 
history  compels  us,  once  more,  to  resume  the  notorious  ques- 
tion of  the  state  railroad  bonds.  Throughout  the  entire  life  of 
the  state,  from  1858  to  1882,  a  period  of  twenty-four  years, 
under  seven  different  governors,  and  twelve  successive  admin- 
istrations, the  question  of  the  state  bonds,  issued  to  subsidize 
delinquent  railroad  companies,  was  the  perplexing  factor  in 
the  development  of  state  politics. 

It  will  be  remembered,  that,  in  1857,  in  the  very  throes  of 
the  greatest  financial  crisis  the  American  nation  ever  experi- 
enced,—  the  time  when  the  Ohio  Life  and  Trust  Company  sus- 
pended, in  the  enormous  sum  of  $7,000,000,  followed  by  the 


346  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

suspension  of  the  banks  in  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Massa- 
chusetts, Ehode  Island,  Maryland,  and  in  the  District  of  Col- 
umbia, and  by  the  wreck  of  manufacturers  on  every  side  and 
business  failures,  in  liabilities  to  the  sum  of  $291,750,000, 
and  more, —  that,  then,  Congress  granted  to  the  Territory  of 
Minnesota,  4,500,000  acres  of  land  for  railroads,  a  field  too 
tempting  to  be  allowed  to  abide  unemployed  by  the  energetic 
men  who  had  flocked  to  Minnesota  to  make  their  fortunes; 
that.  May  22,  1857,  the  territorial  legislature  granted  the  en- 
tire donation  to  certain  impecunious  chartered  railroad  com- 
panies, and  amended  the  Constitution,  April  15,  1858,  there- 
by providing  for  the  loan  of  the  credit  of  the  state  to  the 
companies,  to  the  amount  of  $5,000,000,  to  be  represented 
by  bonds,  issued  on  certain  conditions  to  the  companies,  the 
people  apjjroving  the  measure  by  an  overwhelming  majority; 
that,  when  expunging  the  prohibitory  clause  of  the  Constitu- 
tion which  forbade  such  loan,  and  pledging  the  faith  of  the 
state,  without  reservation,  to  the  acceptors  of  her  bonds,  Gov- 
ernor Sibley  was  required  to  demand  and  receive  from  the 
companies,  as  security  for  the  punctual  payment  and  redemp- 
tion of  the  state  bonds,  a  mortgage  of  the  net  profits  of  the 
road,  and  the  conveyance  of  the  first  two  hundred  and  forty 
sections  of  unincumbered  internal  improvement  land;  that  as 
^^  further  security ^^^  he  was  directed  to  exact  an  amount  of  "/rs^ 
mortgage  bonds-''  on  their  roads,  lands,  and  franchises,  equal 
to  the  amount  of  bonds  issued  to  the  companies  by  the  state; 
and  was,  moreover,  required,  in  case  of  default,  to  issue  no 
more  bonds,  but  to  sell  the  bonds  of  the  defaulting  compa- 
nies, or  the  two  hundred  and  forty  sections  of  land,  or  fore- 
close the  mortgage  which  covered  the  roads,  lauds  and  fran- 
chises of  the  companies,  the  state's  sufficient  indemnity  in 
case  of  loss.  It  will  be  remembered,  also,  that  Governor  Sib- 
ley, construing  the  amendment  of  Aiml  15,  1858,  in  favor  of  the 
state,  notified  the  comi^anies  that  no  bonds  would  be  issued 
by  the  state  unless  the  companies'  bonds  specified  '^apriotHty 
of  Uen,^^  the  supreme  court  deciding  adversely  to  the  gov- 
ernor's construction,  and  compelling,  by  writ  of  mandamus, 
oljtained  by  the  comijauies,  the  issuance  of  the  bonds  apart 
from  the  pre-condition  the  governor  required.  And,  further  it 
will  be  remembered,  that,  after  the  companies  had  commenced 
operations  and  earned  a  large  amount  of  the  securities,  a  war- 
fare was  waged  upon  the  bonds  so  persistent  and  unscrupu- 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  347 

lous  as  to  excite  distrust,  the  effect  of  which  was  that  neither 
the  governor  nor  the  companies  were  able  to  negotiate  the 
bonds  and  obtain  funds  to  carry  on  the  work,  so  that  the 
companies  became  insolvent,  ceased  operations,  defaulted  in 
payment  of  interest,  and  the  state  foreclosed  the  securities. 
By  the  foreclosure  proceedings,  the  state  acquired  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  of  graded  road,  the  lands  and  franchises 
of  the  companies,  and  a  title  to  all  the  securities,  including 
nearly  5,000,000,  acres  of  land,  as  security  for  the  liability  on 
$2,275,000  of  bonds  with  interest,  so  that  the  state —  surety — 
became  the  owner  of  assets  enough  to  more  than  satisfy  its 
own  claim,  itself  becoming  rich  on  the  ruin  of  companies 
whose  confidence  it  sought  and  won  by  its  own  free  legisla- 
tion. 

But  this  was  not  all.  The  opportunity  had  come  for  poli- 
ticians to  rise  into  power  by  pandering  to  the  immorality 
of  the  people.  Another  amendment  was  passed,  under  Gov- 
ernor Eamsey's  administration,  November  6,  1860,  prescrib- 
ing that  no  provision  of  any  kind  should  be  made  by  the 
legislature,  tax  or  other,  to  pay  either  principal  or  interest, 
without  first  submitting  the  same  to  the  people  for  their  prior  con- 
sent and  ratification.  Astounding,  beyond  degree,  as  was  this 
measure,  it  was  readily  adopted  by  the  people,  in  overwhelm- 
ing majority,  and  under  Republican  rule.  The  morality  of 
the  state  seemed  hopelessly  compromised  by  this  legislation, 
and  conscience  and  honor  apparently  abandoned  forever.  The 
situation  was  portentous  enough.  By  state  enactment,  and 
judicial  decision,  the  bonds  had  been  issued,  a  relentless  war 
waged  against  them,  the  companies  wrecked,  the  securities 
foreclosed,  the  state  thus  acquiring  a  title  to  the  companies' 
property  in  amount  more  than  enough  to  twice  satisfy  her 
own  claims,  yet  refusing  to  apply  to  the  liquidation  of  the 
debt  the  companies'  property  recovered  by  foreclosure,  giving 
the  same  to  other  companies,  then,  having  indemnified  her- 
self, openly  repudiated  her  own  most  sacred  obligations,  in  the 
face  of  the  civilized  world!  The  amendment  of  November  6, 
1860,  was  a  practical  nullification  and  extinction  of  the  good 
faith  of  the  state  pledged  to  the  companies  in  the  amendment 
of  April  15,  1858,  the  defendant  against  the  plaintiff's  claim 
being  her  own  judge  in  the  case,  having  first  deprived  the 
legislature  of  its  legal  jurisdiction,  and  by  consent  of  the  leg- 
islature itself.     In  this  manner,  the  sanctity  of  covenants, 


348  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

honor,  justice,  truth,  and  fidelity,  were  publicly  violated  in 
the  name  of  the  state,  and  the  appeal  of  the  bondholders  for 
protection  and  relief  spurned  with  contempt. 

The  defense  of  repudiation  was,  in  general,  the  false  de- 
fense of  "inability  to  pay,"  "no  authority  to  pay,"  "no  legal 
contract,"  and  the  "invalidity  of  the  bonds."  More  espe- 
cially, the  plea  by  which  it  was  sought  to  be  justified,  was  this, 
(1)  that  "the  amendment  of  Ajvil  15,  1858,  was  passed  before 
Minnesota  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  state,  3Iay  IL, 
1858;"  (2)  that  Congress  had,  in  the  admission  of  the  state, 
"only  recognized  the  original  and  unamended  Constitution  of 
the  state,  adopted  by  the  people,  October  13,  1857 ; "  (3)  that 
there  was  "an  illegal  incongruity  in  a  state  legislature  uniting 
with  a  territorial  governor  in  the  passage  of  the  bond  meas- 
ure;"  (4)  that  "  a  state  legislature  has  no  power  to  provide  for 
the  payment  of  principal  or  interest  apart  from  the  consent 
of  the  people;"  or  keep  the  faith  of  the  people  by  whom  the 
obligation  of  the  state  had  been  impaired,  i.  e.  no  power  to 
compel  the  people  to  respect  their  own  obligations  against 
their  own  will;  (5)  that,  although  the  state  had  amended  her 
Constitution  in  favor  of  the  companies,  April  15,  1858,  yet 
November  6, 1858,  notwithstanding  the  bonds  had  been  issued, 
and  the  bondholders  accepted  the  offer  of  the  state,  investing 
therein,  "the  state  had  practically  withdrawn  her  offer,  and 
expunged  from  the  Constitution  the  evidence  of  her  pledge, 
thereby  annulling  the  record  of  her  contract,  and  restraining 
the  legislature  from  further  action  except  by  the  will  of  the 
people;"  (6)  that  "the  financial  crisis  of  1857,"  whereby 
capital  was  frightened  away  from  the  state,  was  "a  consid- 
eration sufficient  to  absolve  the  state  from  any  moral  obliga- 
tion in  the  case;"  and  (7)  that  the  companies  were  "delin- 
quent and  impecunious  at  the  time  of  the  contract,"  the  state 
being  betrayed  into  the  relation  of  an  "indorser  for  a  worth- 
less creditor."  1 


1  The  aiiiendiueiit  of  November  6,  1860,  that  wiped  out  the  amendment  of  April  15, 
18.58,allowini,'  the  55,000,000  loan,  went  to  the  unjiistiliahle  and  dishonest  extent  of  declaring 
that  the  lionds,  already  out,  should  never  be  paid  unless  sanctioned  by  a  vote  of  the  people.' 
The  whole  transaction,  as  to  the  loan,  was  a  bad  bargain,  made  when  the  country  was  in 
the  throes  of  ruiancitil  disHoliition,  and  am/  remedy  that  presented  itself  was  seized  upon  as  a 
drovvniii),'  man  (Mutelii'sat  a  Klriiw.  Tliu  folly  was  in  going  into  it.  The  crime  was  in  trying 
to  sneak  out  of  it  under  the  shield  of  state  sovrreignty,  which  should  never  he  invoked  save 
in  the  cause  of  human  rights,  and  the  defense  of  the  honor  of  the  commonwealth. —  Hon. 
Charles  li.  I""lan<lrau,  Address,  Pioneer  Association,  Ramsey  County,  pp.  10,  L'O,  1886. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  349 

In  contrast  with  this  deep  moral  and  political  defection, 
it  will  ever  stand  as  a  ground  of  gratitude,  that  the  state  still 
retained  in  her  bosom  men  of  honor,  courage,  and  faith,  M'ho 
did  not  despair,  in  the  hour  of  her  darkest  disgrace,  to  redeem 
her  name  from  open  reproach  and  shame.  Eminent  among 
such  was  ex-Governor  Sibley,  whose  moral  resentment  was 
roused,  strong  to  repel  the  dishonor  that  mantled  a  state  for 
whose  life  he  had  risked  already  his  own  in  the  tented  field. 
In  reply  to  the  whole  defense  of  repudiation,  he  maintained 
(1)  that  the"  state  was  abundantly  able  to  pay  her  just  obli- 
gations, having  a  future  second  to  none  of  her  sister  states 
in  the  Union,  and  able  to  pay,  "dollar  for  dollar,"  with  all 
the  accrued  interest,  on  all  that  she  legally  owed;  (2)  that,  at 
the  peril  of  the  loss  of  her  credit  and  name  forever,  she  was 
bound  to  pay;  (3)  that  the  Constitution  of  the  state  recognized 
by  Congress,  at  the  time  of  the  admission  of  Minnesota  into 
the  Union,  provided  for  its  own  amendment,  and  therefore 
Congress  had  recognized  that  provision  and  its  effect,*by  recog- 
nizing the  Constitution  itself;  (4)  that  the  alleged  "illegal 
incongruity"  of  a  state  legislature  uniting  with  a  territorial 
governor,  in  the  bond  measure,  was  a  mere  pretense,  affecting 
in  no  way  the  obligation  of  the  state,  since  the  bonds  were 
issued  pursuant  to  the  amendment  of  April  15,  1858,  an  amend- 
ment adopted  by  seven-eighths  of  the  people,  irrespective  of 
party  lines;  (5)  that  the  amendment  of  November  6, 1860,  was 
in  violation  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  which 
forbids  that  contracts  should  ever  be  impaired;  (6)  that  the 
financial  crisis  of  1857  no  more  absolved  Minnesota  from  her 
just  obligations  than  it  did  other  states  of  the  Union;  (7)  that 
the  legislature  was  bound  to  respect  and  not  relinquish  its  own 
jurisdiction,  and,  apart  from  this  swerving  will  or  consent 
of  the  people,  provide  for  the  principal  and  interest  of  the 
bonds,  adjust  the  claims  of  the  bondholders,  and  protect  the 
good  name  and  credit  of  the  state;  (8)  that  no  subsequent 
amendment  of  the  Constitution  can  ablate  the  vested  right  of 
the  bondholders,  which  endures  even  were  compacts  no  longer 
regarded  as  sacred  by  men;  (9)  that  the  people  of  Minnesota, 
when  expunging  the  prohibitory  clause  from  their  Constitu- 
tion in  favor  of  the  companies,  and  the  supreme  court,  when 
granting  its  mandamus  to  compel  the  issue  of  the  bonds,  re- 
gardless of  the  governor's  construction  of  the  amendment, 
were  fully  aware  that  the  companies  asked  the  credit  of  the 


350  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

state  because  they  were  delinquent  and  impecunious;  and  (10) 
that  the  act  of  repudiatio7i,  done  in  the  name  of  the  people, 
was  an  act  of  public  infamy,  and  an  exhibition  of  state  perfidy 
and  dishonesty,  disgraceful  to  the  state,  destructive  of  her 
name,  and  abhorred  by  every  honest  man;  a  moral  prostitu- 
tion of  her  statehood,  sudden,  open,  shameless,  and  glaring, 
and  which  could  only  forfeit,  for  Minnesota,  the  respect  of  all 
good  citizens  within  her  bounds,  and  attract  the  contempt  of 
the  nation  and  the  civilized  world. 

The  opposition  General  Sibley  was  called  upon  to  encoun- 
ter was  a  formidable  one.  His  return  from  his  last  campaign 
against  the  Sioux  Indians  found  ^'■repudiation''''  an  existing 
fact.  His  return  again  from  the  public  service  of  the  country 
in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  a  member  of  the  mixed  civil 
and  military  commission  on  Indian  affairs,  found  the  ^'■senti- 
ment of  repudiation''^  stronger  than  ever,  the  bondholders  help- 
less, before  the  indisposition  of  the  party  in  power,  to  afford 
them  relief.  Two  millions  two  hundred  and  seventy-five 
thousand  dollars'  ($2,275,000)  worth  of  state  bonds  had  been 
thrown  upon  the  market,  the  state  repudiating  the  same,  the 
depreciated  bonds  made  use  of  as  a  basis  for  banking  pur- 
poses, the  notes  issued  by  the  banks  worthless  outside  of  the 
state,  the  banks  themselves  failing,  and  the  bonds  only  sink- 
ing deeper  in  the  disesteem  of  those  who  held  the  fancy  paper. 
Politicians  were  industriously  circulating  false  statements, 
everywhere  inoculating  the  incoming  immigration  with  the 
virus  of  the  idea  that  "the  issuance  of  the  bonds  was  illegal," 
and  the  bonds  themselves  an  "old  territorial  fraud,"  deserv- 
ing only  of  repudiation.  Newcomers  were  not  bound  to  help 
pay  a  debt  that  they  had  not  voted  to  incur,  nor  be  held  re- 
sponsible for  a  folly  of  which  they  were  not  guilty.  Year 
after  year,  continuously,  this  "vexed  question,"  perpetually 
discussed,  and  affecting  the  financial  and  political  condition 
of  the  state,  a  question  agitated  in  every  campaign,  and  aired 
in  every  legislature,  became,  as  the  Ghost  of  Banquo,  an  un- 
welcome presence,  goading  the  conscience  and  mocking  the 
peace  of  the  state,  refusing  to  "down"  at  anyone's  bidding, 
80  long  sus  the  injured  creditors  confronted  the  door  of  the 
treasury  with  a  claim  and  demand  which  all  the  world  knew  to 
be  just.  Like  a  corroding  acid,  this  repudiated  obligation, 
and  unliquidated  debt,  ate  into  the  very  vitals  of  the  state. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  361 

Governor  Marshall,  one  of  General  Sibley's  most  trusted 
officers  during  the  campaigns  against  the  Sioux  Indians,  was 
the  first  executive,  after  the  practical  repudiation,  November 
6,  1860,  who  suggested  to  the  legislature  a  means  of  relief  to 
the  bondholders,  and  a  way  of  redeeming  the  honor  of  the 
state.  It  was  discovered,  in  1867,  that,  by  a  half- forgotten  act 
of  Congress,  September  4,  1841,  public  lands  to  the  amount 
of  500,000  acres  were  granted  to  certain  states  for  internal 
improvements,  and  that  Minnesota  was  entitled,  as  one  of  such 
states,  to  this  offered  share  of  the  public  domain.  Governor 
Marshall,  at  once,  recommended  "that  the  proceeds  of  the 
sales  of  the  500,000  acres  be  set  apart  as  a  sinking  fund  to 
pay  whatever  might  be  ultimately  settled  upon  as  justly  and 
equitably  due  the  holders  of  the  bonds."  ^  These  lands  cost 
the  state  nothing,  and  the  proceeds  of  the  500,000  acres  would 
be  ample,  without  taxation  of  the  people,  and  without  need- 
less delay  to  the  bondholders,  to  meet  the  state  debt  of  $2,275,- 
000,  incurred  by  the  issuance  of  the  bonds.  The  recommen- 
dation was  wise  and  judicious.  By  frequent  articles  in  the 
daily  press.  General  Sibley  sought  to  promote  this  measure, 
and  stir  the  legislature  to  action,  reminding  the  people  of  the 
indelible  stain  Mississippi  had  brought  on  herself  by  a  single 
act  of  repudiation,  making  her  name  "the  synonym  of  dis- 
honor in  both  hemispheres,"  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  yet, 
notwithstanding  appeals  like  these,  an  organized  opposition 
to  any  redemption  of  the  tarnished  honor  of  the  state  existed, 
led  by  certain  politicians  seeking  the  popular  favor,  and  hop- 
ing to  gain  political  power,  even  by  blasting  the  credit  of 
the  state  for  the  sake  of  accomplishing  their  personal  ends. 
Against  such,  and  their  daring  schemes  and  measures.  Gen- 
eral Sibley,  surcharged  with  an  electric  force  of  indignation, 
fulminated  his  scathing  sentences,  ^^Giveus,^^  said  he,  ^^ plague, 
pestilence,  famine,  loss  of  public  and  private  wealth,  a  loss  which 
men  may  overcome  hy  industry  and  economy,  but  save  us  from  this 
monstrous  exhibition  of  perfidy,  and  the  vile  public  manifesto  of  a 
determination  by  the  state  to  play  the  part  of  a  repudiator  and 
common  robber  such  as  would  render  Minnesota  a  sie)wh  in  the 
nostrils  of  Ghristendoyn.  Such  a  consummation  would  set  the  seal 
of  infamy  indelible  on  the  fair  and  noble  '■North  Star  State, ^  malie 
angels  weep,  and  cause  the  fiends  of  the  infernal  regions  to  howl  with 
satisfaction  at  so  glaring  an  instance  of  depravity  and  villainy. ^\ 

1  Exec.  Docs.,  1866,  p.  19.  • 

2  St.  Paul  Pioneer,  May  1, 1867. 


352  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

These  were  strong  words,  but  needed.  Unscrupulous  men 
liad  come  into  the  state.  The  public  conscience  was  corrupt 
in  the  extreme.  The  pride  of  the  old  pioneer  was  touched. 
The  sanctity  of  oaths  and  covenants  seemed  gone.  AYhat 
should  excite  indignation  only  provoked  a  wink  and  a  smile. 
The  morality  of  the  state  was  that  of  fraud  and  defiance.  The 
maxim  of  Eob  Roy,  quoted  by  General  Sibley,  seemed  the 
only  ethics,  namely: 

' '  The  simple  plan 

That  he  shall  take  who  has  the  power, 

And  he  shall  keep  ivho  can!^' 

Therefore  did  General  Sibley  make  his  appeal,  even  to 
churches  and  the  ministers  in  the  state,  who  professed,  at  least, 
to  be  the  "light"  and  the  "salt"  of  the  earth,  the  conserva- 
tors of  public  instruction  and  morals,  and  the  enemies  of  all 
lies,  wickedness,  fraud,  and  wrong.  Of  what  character  must 
their  religion,  or  that  of  their  flocks,  be,  when  men,  who  claim 
to  i)ractice  better  things,  are  found,  not  only  in  the  ranks  of 
professing  Christians,  but  of  public  offenders,  and  highway 
robbers,  sitting  at  the  sacramental  table  and  yet  repudiating 
their  own  most  solemn  engagements!  Or  what  confidence 
can  be  reposed  in  a  j^ulpit  loud  in  its  denunciation  of  some 
national  evil,  like  slavery,  geographically  distant  from  it,  yet 
absolutely  silent  as  to  a  score  of  public  crimes  geographically 
near,  and  in  which  church  members  had  no  minor  share! 
"  We  are  threatened,"  said  he,  "with  a  calamity  in  the  shape 
of  the  repudiation  of  an  obligation,  which  would  render  us 
obnoxious  to  the  charge  of  wholesale  robbery,  and  of  being  a 
stench  in  the  nostrils  of  Christendom.  We  say  it  is  unaccounta- 
hle  that  those  in  charge  of  religious  congregations,  who  believe  in 
the  propriety  of  introducing  into  the  pulpit  subjects  of  worldly  con- 
cern, and  icho  have  thundered,  for  years,  against  institutions  and 
practices  averred  to  be  repugnant  to  the  word  of  God,  and  the  spirit 
of  the  age,  should  REMAIN  mute,  and  unexcited,  in  view  of  a  con- 
templated scheme  of  dishonor  and  shame  at  home,  which,  if  suc- 
cessful, loill  work  the  moral  as  tvell  as  financial  ruin  of  the  state! 
Certainly,  if  it  is  right  and  proper  to  denounce  openly,  in  a 
Christian  church,  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  land  for  pursuing 
courses  and  policies  deemed  politically  wrong,  it  is  not  the  less 
incumbrnt  njion  these  ministers  of  the  (lospcl  to  hurl  their  shafts  of 
indignation  and  j'rhnlr  at  unscrupulous  and  miserable  politicians 
of  a  loiier  grade,  for  Ihcir  endeavor  to  corrupt  and  mislead  the 


HON.  HENEY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  353 

people  of  Minnesota.  Is  their  crime  less  heinous  than  that  of 
some  high  ofl&cial?  Are  they  not  conspiring  against  the  com- 
mon principles  of  honesty  and  doing  their  utmost  to  plunge 
the  state  into  moral  guilt  of  the  deepest  dye"?  The  watchmen 
on  the  towers  of  Zion  will  prove  recreant  to  their  great  trust  unless 
they  instantly  sound  the  alarm,  and  ivarn  all  those  within  the  sphere 
of  their  influence  to  defeat  the  plotters  who,  to  accomplish  their 
selfish  purposes,  are  striving  to  deliver  Minnesota  over  to  the  do- 
minion of  the  Evil  One."  ^ 

These  high-souled  words  were  not  without  their  value. 
The  conscience  of  the  better  portion  of  the  state  began  to  be 
aroused.  The  pulpit  was  compelled  to  speak.  Not  only  did 
the  pulpit  speak,  but  ecclesiastical  assemblies  recognized  the 
peril  of  the  situation  and  the  damage  to  religion  as  well  as 
morals.  The  hope  of  reversing  repudiation  seemed  now  to  be 
possible.  Eminent  counsel,  like  Justice  Curtis  of  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court,  and  Hon.  W.  M.  Evarts  of  New  York, 
the  attorney  general  of  the  United  States,  were  consulted, 
and  their  legal  judgment  published,  that  ''a  change  of  consti- 
tution cannot  release  a  state  from  contracts  made  under  a 
constitution  which  permits  them  to  be  made,  but  that  the 
bonds  are  valid  contracts  not  impaired  by  any  subsequent 
amendment  to  the  Constitution,  but  are  binding  upon  the 
state,  and  protected  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States; 
and  that  the  legislature  has  power  to  provide  for  their  pay- 
ment without  submitting  to  the  people  any  act  passed  for  that 
purpose." 

Under  the  administration  of  Governor  Austin,  the  sum- 
mer of  1870  saw  the  State  of  Minnesota  agitated  afresh  with 
the  all-absorbing  discussion  of  the  bond  question.  The  opin- 
ion of  the  governor  that  the  bonds  were  of  "questionable 
validity  "  only  made  the  discussions  all  the  more  earnest.  Gen- 
eral Sibley  took  the  field  in  person,  in  defense  of  their  legality, 
and  in  the  hope  of  doing  something  effectively,  not  only  to 
remove  misapprehension  and  falsehood  from  the  minds  of  the 
people,  large  numbers  of  whom  had  been  poisoned  by  the 
politicians,  but,  if  possible,  to  redeem  the  honor  and  credit 
of  the  state.  March  4,  1870,  in  order  to  relieve  the  desperate 
■condition  of  things,  the  legislature,  following  the  suggestion 
previously  made  by  Governor  Marshall,  passed  an  act  giving 
opportunity  to  the  holders  of  the  bonds  to  exchange  the  same 

1  St.  Paul  Pioneer,  July  17, 1867. 
23 


354:  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

for  500,000  acres  of  internal  improvement  land,  the  act,  how- 
ever, to  be  submitted  to  the  people  for  their  approval.  This 
submission  of  the  acts  of  the  legislature  to  the  will  of  the 
people,  in  the  case  of  a  contract  between  the  people  and  the 
railroad  companies,  was  only  a  renewed  abdication  of  the  func- 
tions of  the  legislature,  under  the  excuse  of  non-jurisdiction, 
and  a  bid  for  popular  rejection  of  the  plans  of  settlement. 
Pending  the  action  of  the  people,  General  Sibley  addressed, 
in  the  market  square  of  the  city  of  St.  Paul,  May  22,  1870,  a 
large  concourse  of  his  fellow  citizens,  and  in  a  clear,  earnest, 
and  triumphant  manner,  pleaded  the  cause  of  the  state  as 
against  the  politicians,  the  cause  of  the  bondholders  against 
the  state,  and  the  absolute  necessity  to  redeem  the  honor  of 
the  state  from  the  dark  eclipse  that  now  obscured  it.  October, 
1870,  he  was  elected  from  Kamsey  county  to  the  legislature 
for  the  express  purpose  of  reviewing  the  entire  question  from 
the  beginning,  vindicating  his  own  administration,  repelling 
the  slanders  circulated  concerning  the  issuance  of  the  bonds, 
fixing  the  responsibility  of  the  failure  of  the  whole  enterprise 
where  it  properly  belonged,  and  to  do  what  lay  in  his  power 
to  remove  from  the  state  the  moral  and  financial  turpitude  of 
repudiation.  February  4,  1871,  he  introduced  the  following 
resolution  into  the  house  of  representatives: 

^^  Eesloved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  house  that  the  honor  of  the  state  re- 
quires the  speedy  settlement  of  the  question  of  the  state  railroad  bonds  in  a  manner 
that  will  secure  to  the  holders  of  them  what  is  fairly  and  equitably  due  them." 

Under  this  resolution  he  made  his  great  speech  in  the  leg- 
islature, Febuary  8, 1871,  to  an  audience  whose  ears  he  held  in 
fixed  attention  from  its  beginning  to  its  close.  He  recited  the 
history  of  the  state  and  of  the  legislation,  the  history  of  the 
issuance  of  the  bonds,  exhibited  from  official  evidence  his  own 
relation  to  them,  established  the  validity  of  the  bonds,  vindi- 
cated his  administration  from  the  slanders  falsely  circulated 
against  it,  repelled  the  charge  of  territorial  fraud,  emphasized 
the  solemn  obligation  of  the  state  to  pay,  and  denounced  re- 
pudiation in  withering  terms.  It  was  his  last  appearance  in 
the  legislature  of  a  state  he  had  aone  more  to  found  and  form 
than  any  other  man  within  or  without  its  bounds.  His  warm 
solicitude  to  keep  her  honor  pure  gave  unction  to  his  words, 
and  fervor  to  his  action.  His  calm,  clear  argument,  and  his 
moral  indignation,  stately  and  impressiv^e,  were  not  lost  upon 
the  legislature,  and  the  i)eroration  of  his  speech  will  not  be 
soon  forgotten.     His  closing  words  were  these: 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,   LL.D.  355 

"But  for  the  abiding  faith  I  feel  in  the  certainty  that  Minnesota  will 
honorably  acquit  herself  of  all  her  engagements  and  thus  rid  herself  of  the 
garment  of  Nessus,  which  now,  in  the  shape  of  unliquidated  obligations,  is 
enveloping  the  body  politic  in  its  poisonous  and  deadly  fold,  I  would  not 
long  delay  to  transfer  myself  and  my  children  to  a  residence  in  some  com- 
munity where  we  ^vould  not  be  subjected  to  the  intolerable  shame  and 
humiliation  of  being  citizens  of  a  repudiating  state,  frowned  upon  by  a  just 
and  righteous  God,  and  abhorred  by  man."^ 

No  sooner  had  the  speech  of  General  Sibley  been  pub- 
lished and  circulated  throughout  the  state,  than  it  spread  to 
the  Eastern  cities,  and  attracted  the  attention  of  financial 
and  commercial  journals,  everywhere,  outside  the  state.  The 
spectacle  of  an  incorruptible  man  stemming  the  tide  of  repu- 
diation could  not  fail  to  be  noticed  and  commented  upon  in 
the  most  flattering  terms.  Seventeen  presidents  of  different 
leading  banks  in  New  York  City  —  not  to  mention  letters  from 
thirty  of  its  most  prominent  business  firms,  and  an  avalanche 
of  communications  from  various  parts  of  the  country — has- 
tened, February  23,  1871,  to  address  a  letter  of  congratulation 
to  him,  expressing,  in  warmest  terms,  their  deep  sense  of  the 
high  service  he  had  rendered,  not  only  to  Minnesota,  but  to 
the  entire  nation.  "As  citizens  of  the  United  States,  uninter- 
ested in  any  class  of  securities  issued  by  the  State  of  Min- 
nesota," they  begged  the  privilege  of  formulating,  in  terms, 
their  gratitude  for  the  manly  effort.  "No  state,"  say  they, 
"can  afford  to  have  the  principle  of  repudiation  even  sug- 
gested as  a  possibility.  The  day  has  passed  when  any  such 
notion  can  be  allowed  to  exist  even  for  a  moment.  Minne- 
sota's natural  resources  are  too  important,  and  her  demand 
for  good  credit  and  large  amounts  of  capital  too  urgent,  at  this 
time,  to  permit  the  dishonest  cry  of  repudiation  to  find  any 
friends  at  home  or  abroad."  Apart  from  the  reward  which 
the  consciousness  of  doing  right  always  brings,  this  joint  testi- 
mony from  the  commercial  voice  of  the  centre  of  the  nation, 
unexpected  as  unsolicited,  was  ample  payment  for  the  brave 
fight  General  Sibley  had  made  in  behalf  of  the  honor  and  the 
credit  of  his  state. 

The  state  legislature  was  moved  to  action.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  people  rejected  the  proposal  to  set  apart  500,000  acres 
of  the  state  lands  for  the  liquidation  of  the  debt  created  by 
the  bonds,  the  legislature.  May  2,  1871,  passed  an  "Act  of 
Arbitration,"  again  to  be  submitted  to  the  people,  the  pur- 

1  St.  Paul  Daily  Press,  February  9,  1S71.    (120,000  copies  printed.) 


356  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

pose  of  which  was  to  "test  the  validity  of  the  bonds,  and 
amounts  justly  and  equitably  due  the  bondholders."  This 
also  was  rejected  by  the  people;  those  voting  "I'ips,"  casting 
ballots  ''against  repudiation,"  those  voting  "^o,"  casting 
ballots  "in  favor  of  rejDudiation,"  the  one  acquainting  the 
world  that  some,  at  least,  could  be  found  in  Minnesota,  who 
prized  the  jewel  of  a  "good  name"  above  whatever  else  pos- 
session, the  other  that  the  majority  still  preferred,  as  citizens, 
to  worship  "Eob  Roy,"  deeming  successful  escape  from  a 
legal  obligation,  and  forceful  and  artful  violation  of  plighted 
faith,  and  retention  of  other  men's  goods  without  right,  as 
something  more  precious  than  public  decency,  honor,  justice, 
or  truth.  Gilt-edged  with  the  name  of  religion,  the  fraud 
might  actually  i)ass  for  prudence,  and  perfumed  with  the 
unction  of  devotion,  it  might  seem  no  less  than  a  flower  of 
divine  grace.  The  "Christian  culture  and  civilization"  of 
the  people  determined  not  only  that  the  property  of  the  com- 
Ijanies,  gained  by  foreclosure,  but  also  the  500,000  acres  of 
land,  costing  nothing,  should  not  be  applied  to  discharge  the 
bondholders'  just  claims;  and  further,  that  no  inquiry  should 
be  made  whether  any  claims  existed  at  all! 

Still,  there  were  men  in  the  state  whose  faith  did  not  fail 
in  this  trying  hour.  Governor  C.  K,  Davis,  urging  in  his 
valedictory  message  to  the  legislature,  January  7,  1876,  the 
appointment  of  a  board  of  commissioners  to  arbitrate,  in  the 
whole  question,  appealed  to  the  state,  saying,  "Let  us  meet 
our  responsibilities  as  becomes  a  great  state  holding  her 
honor  dearer  than  anything  else.  There  is  a  higher  rule  of 
action  which  requires  that  states,  no  less  than  men,  shall  do  justice, 
no  matter  hoio  onerous  the  responsibility  and  the  performance.  It 
is  a  rule  that  bears  upon  us  now,  and  contains  forces  of  self- 
assertion  against  which  no  opposition,  not  founded  in  right, 
can  stand  with  any  permanency.  We  have  disregarded  it 
too  long."i  The  same  day,  Governor  Pillsbury,  in  his  inaug- 
ural message  to  the  same  legislature,  smote  the  plea  of  the 
repudiators,  as  to  "  no  ability  to  pay  "  by  adducing  state  sta- 
tistics showing  the  state  to  be  an  annual  producer  of  more  than 
•SnOjOOOjOOO  of  products,  a  possessor  of  more  than  $220,000,000 
of  taxable  property,  Avitli  a  population  increasing  almost 
beyond  the  power  of  tlie  state  to  give  it  accommodation. 
Already  tlie  500,000  acres  have  yielded  over  $100,000,  and  a 

1  Exec.  DocM.,  1878,  Vol.  I,  \<\>.  U,  -I'i. 


HON.  HENRY    HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  357 

'•sinking  fund,"  made  from  the  same,  would  soon  redeem  the 
state  from  dishonor.  The  legislature  turned  a  deaf  ear  to 
his  words.  Again,  in  another  message,  January  4,  1877,  he 
renewed  his  appeal,  reasserting  the  validity  of  the  bonds, 
and  warning  the  state  not  to  put  indisposition  in  the  place 
of  abundant  ability  to  pay.  Unheeded,  he  still  kept  up  his 
brave,  fearless,  and  faithful  assault  upon  the  false  sentiment 
of  the  times,  and  sought  to  win  the  people  to  a  better  mind, 
and  stir  the  legislature  to  needed  action,  and  January  11, 
1878,  opened  his  mouth,  after  the  manner  of  General  Sibley, 
saying  to  the  legislature,  "No  public  calamity,  no  visitation 
of  grasshoppers,  no  wholesale  destruction  or  insidious  pesti- 
lence, could  possibly  inflict  so  fatal  a  blow  upon  our  state,  as 
the  deliberate  repudiation  of  her  solemn  obligations.  It  xcould 
he  a  confession  more  damaging  to  the  character  of  a  government  of 
the  people  than  the  assault  of  its  ivorst  enemies.  With  the  loss  of 
public  honor  ^  little  could  remain  worth  preserving.''^ '^ 

The  heart  of  the  governor  was  evidently  touched  on  account 
of  the  hardness  of  the  heart  of  the  people  refusing  to  hear  the 
voice  of  the  charmer,  "  charming  never  so  wisely,"  and  voting 
into  the  dust  every  measure  proposed  to  protect  the  name  of 
the  state,  and  keep  conscience  and  truth  with  men.  A  re- 
ligious community  intent  on  fraud  and  defending  the  same 
is  the  devil's  best  card  in  the  onward  march  of  "  our  Christian 
culture  and  civilization!"  As  with  a  last  gasp  and  sigh, 
Governor  Pillsbury,  once  more,  besought,  obstested,  implored, 
and  even  supplicated,  the  state  to  abandon  her  political  and 
moral  dishonesty  and  turn  her  feet  to  the  paths  of  righteous- 
ness, wisdom,  and  truth,  saying,  as  his  accents  sank  in  silence, 
January  6,  1881,  ^'^  I  implore  the  people  of  Minnesota,  and  you, 
gentlemen,  their  representatives,  to  seize  this  last  opportunity,  he- 
fore  it  is  too  late,  to  wipe  out  this  only  Mot  from  the  fair  name  of 
our  beloved  state !^^'  Moved  to  some  extent  by  the  wakened 
conscience,  and  wakening  aj^iieals  of  noble  and  influential 
men,  as  well  as  beginning  to  feel  some  trivial  sense  of  shame, 
the  legislature  of  1881  passed  the  "Internal  Improvement 
Sinking  Fund  Act,"  and  also  erected  a  "tribunal  of  district 
judges"  to  decide  whether  the  legislature  was  competent  of 
itself,  in  a  case  of  contract  between  the  state  and  companies 

1  Exec.  Docs.,  1877,  Vol.  I,  p.  40. 

2  Exec.  Docs.,  1881,  p.  39.  The  "opportunity"  referred  to  was  the  otfer  of  Mr.  Selah 
Chamberlain,  in  behalf  of  himself  and  the  bondholders,  to  settle  at  half-face  value  of  the 
bonds  issued,  with  the  interest  accrued. 


358  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

bound  by  her  legislation,  to  protect  the  credit  of  the  state 
against  the  will  of  a  people  careless  to  keep  it, — this  act, 
like  all  the  rest,  to  be  "submitted  to  the  people"  for  their 
approval  or  rejection!  The  arts  of  "the  legislature"  and  the 
honesty  of  "the  people,"  had  been  sufficiently  tested.  Judge 
Dillon  of  the  United  States  Court  had  decided,  with  vigor, 
that  the  bonds  were  "valid,  and  binding  in  law  on  the  state, 
and  in  honor  and  in  justice;  nor  can  the  State  of  Minnesota 
afford  to  bear  the  odium  of  rej)udiation."  ^  Upon  appeal,  the 
supreme  court  of  the  United  States  affirmed  the  decision  of 
Judge  Dillon,  in  terms  of  rebuke  to  the  state,  saying  that 
"toe/'e  Minnesota  amenable  to  the  tribunals  of  the  country  as  a  pri- 
vate individual  is,  no  court  of  justice  would  loithhold  its  judgment 
against  her  in  an  action  to  compel  her  to  pay.''''  -  It  was  high  time 
to  put  an  end  to  the  rule  of  politicians  seeking  jjopular  favor, 
and  stamp  out  the  farce  of  a  legislature  that  ever  abjured  its 
own  jurisdiction,  and,  in  every  act  it  passed  to  relieve  the 
situation,  held  the  good  name  and  credit  of  the  state  chained 
to  the  will  of  a  people  resolved  to  disgrace  the  one  and  for- 
feit the  other.  The  supreme  court  of  the  State  of  Minnesota 
decided  that  the  act  of  March  2,  1881,  icas  unconstitutional  and 
issued  a  writ  restraining  the  district  judges  from  interfering 
in  the  manner  proposed,  and  also  decided  that  the  act  of  1861 
requiring  a  x^opular  ratification  of  any  plan  the  legislature  might 
devise  for  settlement  of  the  question  was  nuU  and  void;  and.  further, 
that  the  legislature  had  power,  of  itself,  to  treat  with  the  bond- 
holders, and  protect  the  credit  of  the  state. 

A  moi-e  disgraceful  chai)ter  never  appeared  in  the  annals 
of  any  state,  nor  is  there  language  enough  in  any  vocabulary 
wherewith  to  praise  the  heroic  men  who  fought  repudiation 
inch  by  inch,  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  without  interruption. 
The  state  owes  them  a  debt  it  never  can  pay,  nor  can  ever 
repudiate  while  the  world  stands.  Governor  Pillsbury,  as 
soon  as  the  supreme  court  of  the  state  had  rendered  its  deci- 
sion, convoked  an  "extra  session"  of  the  legislature  to  meet 
October,  1881.  The  Eepublican  party,  that  gave  40,000  ma- 
jority for  Garfield  as  president  of  the  United  States,  declined 
to  (le(;lare  in  its  platform  that  it  was  in  favor  of  a  just  and 
honorable  settlement  with  the  bondholders,  although  some  of 
its  best  men  admitted  that  the  state  was  liable. 

1  Exec.  Docs.,  I87r.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  :{1. 

2  Ibid. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  359 

The  Democratic  party  —  not  forgetful  of  aboundiDg  frauds 
ever  emerging  under  Eepublican  administrations,  and  still 
feeling  the  outrage  upon  the  rights  of  the  nation  when,  in 
1876,  its  great  standard  bearer,  Hon.  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  fairly- 
elected  president  of  the  United  States,  was  unlawfully  de- 
prived of  his  seat,  and,  later  still,  when  the  illustrious  Han- 
cock was  defeated  by  the  people's  money,  stolen  from  the 
government  by  "Star  Eoute  thieves,"  and  expended  in  whole- 
sale bribery  and  corruption  —  resolved  to  seize  the  opj)ortu- 
uity  and  lift  its  voice,  once  more,  against  repudiation.  Prior 
to  the  extra  session  of  the  legislature,  the  leaders  of  the  i)arty 
called  a  Democratic  state  convention,  to  meet  in  the  Grand 
Opera  House,  October  6,  1881,  and,  as  might  be  expected,  the 
name  of  General  H.  H.  Sibley  of  St.  Paul  was  greeted  with 
rounds  of  applause,  and  ' '  the  old  war-horse  of  the  Democ- 
racy of  the  state ' '  was  carried,  by  an  enthusiastic  and  unani- 
mous vote,  into  the  presiding  chair  of  the  convention.  The 
convention  lost  no  time  in  putting  itself  again  upon  record. 
The  Hon.  Charles  E.  Flaudrau,  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Resolutions,  reported  the  following  "j;7«(/*orm,"  which,  from 
that  hour  onward,  became  the  final  official  and  re-enforced 
expression  of  the  Democratic  party  against  the  policy  of  re- 
pudiation: 

Whereas,  The  Democratic  State  Convention  in  1859  embodied  in  its 
platform  of  principles  the  following,  to-wit : 

First  —  That  it  is  the  duty  of  the  people  of  Minnesota  to  preserve  invio- 
late the  faith  and  credit  of  the  state. 

Second  —  That  the  doctrine  of  repiidiation  announced  by  the  Eepubli- 
can party  is  one  which  is  abhorrent  to  the  Democracy  and  must  receive  the 
condemnation  of  the  honest  masses. 

Third — That  we  pledge  the  Democratic  party  of  Minnesota  to  honor- 
ably and  promptly  meet  all  obligations  resting  upon  her. 

And  Whereas,  The  Republican  State  Convention  which  lately  held 
its  session  in  this  city  utterly  ignored  in  its  deliberations  and  platform  all 
allusion  to  the  proposed  settlement  of  the  state  railroad  bonds,  a  question 
involving  vitally  the  honor  and  reputation  of  the  state ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  Fourth  —  That  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party  as  above 
reproduced  from  the  platform  of  the  state  convention  in  1859,  are  hereby 
reaffirmed,  and  we  hereby  express  the  hope  that  the  legislature  of  this  state 
soon  to  assemble  in  special  session  will  by  prompt  and  practical  legislation 
solve  this  grave  problem. 

Resolved,  Fifth  —  That  we  express  our  sincere  grief  for  the  untimely 
death  of  President  Garfield,  and  our  utter  horror  at  the  wicked  assassina- 
tion by  which  he  was  removed  from  life;  and  we  hereby  tender  our  heart- 
felt sympathy  to  his  bereaved  family. 


360  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

Eesolved,  Sixth  —  That  Tve  reaffirm  the  political  principles  announced  by 
the  Democratic  National  Convention  which  nominated  Winfield  S.  Han- 
cock. 1 

These  resolutions  were  adopted  unanimously,  and  seriatim^ 
the  whole  convention  rising  to  its  feet  when  the  "fifth'' 
one,  relating  to  the  assassination  of  President  Garfield,  was 
reached,  and  "standing  in  respectful  silence  until  the  chair- 
man declared  the  resolution  adopted  by  a  unanimous  vote.'^ 
In  the  nomination  for  state  officers  upon  this  jjlatform,  Gen- 
eral Eichard  W.  Johnson  of  St.  Paul  was  placed  at  the  head 
of  the  ticket,  and  his  selection  for  governor  of  the  state, 
and  standard  bearer  of  the  party,  was  carried  by  acclama- 
tion. In  accepting  the  nomination,  General  Johnson  responded 
appropriately,  concluding  his  remarks  by  saying,  "Let  us 
wipe  away  this  stain,  and  if  we  are  defeated  and  overborne 
let  it  be  written  in  history  that  we  were  crushed  in  a  war  of 
honesty  against  repudiation.  I  thank  you  again  for  the  com- 
pliment you  have  paid  me."  This  testimony  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  in  an  hour  so  dark  was  a  brave  one.  The  can- 
didacy for  the  governorship  was  not  entered  on  with  the  least 
hope  of  success.  In  the  words  of  the  nominee,  such  was  "the 
popular  determination  not  to  redeem  the  honor  of  the  state, 
that  the  candidate  who  was  willing  to  go  before  the  people  on 
that  issue,  went  as  the  leader  of  a  "forlorn  hope."  The  result 
was  the  defeat  of  the  Democratic  party.  During  that  canvass 
^Ht  was  made  clear  that  a  legislature,  elected  on  that  issue,  ivould 
never  provide  for  the  settlement  of  this  vexed  question,  and  that  the 
only  way  to  secure  the  settlement  was  for  Governor  Pillsbury 
to  call  an  extra  session  of  the  old  legislature,  and  submit  the 
question  to  that  body."  ^  Notwithstanding  this,  the  action  of 
the  Democratic  convention  of  October  6,  1881,  had  its  influ- 
ence, nor  was  the  extra  session  of  the  legislature  a  stranger 
to  it.  And  all  the  more  was  this  true,  inasmuch  as,  in  the 
words  of  the  Hon.  Eugene  M,  Wilson  of  Hennepin,  "the  Re- 
publicans in  their  convention  had  ignored  the  call  for  the  extra 
session,  and  the  purpose  for  lohich  it  ivas  called,  and  had  studi- 
ously avoided  any  allusion  to  the  matter;  a  slight,  an  insult,  to 
Governor  Pillsbury  from  his  own  party.  "^ 

The  Kepublicans,  however,  saw  that  the  time  had  come  for 
them  also  to  make  a  record  once  more,  and  the  "  vexed  ques- 

1  St.  Paul  Daily  Glo)ie,  Octolier  7,  1881. 

2  A  Soldier'H  Ueiuinlscences,  by  General  R.  W.  Jobnson,  pp.  375,  376. 

3  St.  Paul  Daily  Globe,  October  7,  1881. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  361 

tion,"  kept  vexed  so  long  by  the  party  in  power,  was  at  last 
composed.  Mr,  Selah  Chamberlain,  representing  $1,075,000 
of  bonds,  in  behalf  of  himself  and  others,  had  offered  to  accept 
''new  bonds  of  the  state"  at  half- face  value  of  the  old,  to- 
gether with  the  compounded  interest  on  the  coupons,  in  settle- 
ment of  the  bondholders'  claims.  The  state  accepted  the  offer, 
issued  the  new  bonds,  sold  other  bonds,  in  which  the  school 
fund  was  invested,  to  procure  the  money  needed  by  the  bond- 
holders, and,  with  this,  purchased  its  own  new  bonds,  substi- 
tuting them  in  the  place  of  the  sold  bonds  of  the  school  fund, 
thus  making  that  portion  of  the  railroad  bonds  a  permanent 
school  fund  investment,  the  interest  on  which  is  paid  regu- 
larly by  the  state; — an  investment  never  to  be  dishonored  or 
repudiated  while  the  state  stands.  The  state  auditor's  re- 
port, as  to  the  actual  condition,  or  status,  of  the  final  settle- 
ment, shows  the  total  amount  of  Minnesota  adjustment  bonds  to 
be  no  less  than  $4,287,000,  as  against  $2,275,000  of  the  original 
bonds.  Of  these  $4,287,000,  the  amount  held  by  the  perma- 
nent school  fund  is  $1,981,000;  the  amount  held  by  the  state 
university  permanent  fund,  $288,000;  by  outside  parties,  $1,- 
696,000;  and  redeemed  by  the  internal  improvement  land  fund, 
and  destroyed,  $322,000;  in  all  $4,287,000. 

Thus  a  quarter  of  a  century  had  passed  away  from  the  time 
that  the  people  of  Minnesota,  swept  from  their  moorings  by  a 
resistless  desire  for  railroads,  while  suffering  under  the  finan- 
cial blow  of  1857,  amended  their  Constitution,  April  15,  1858, 
extracting  its  wisdom  and  supplying  folly  in  its  place.  Thus 
ended  one  of  the  most  perplexing  and  obstinate  problems  it 
ever  befalls  a  state  to  solve;  —  the  problem  of  will  against  con- 
science, truth  against  lies,  faith  against  fraud,  self-respect 
against  shame,  right  against  wrong.  While  the  ^^church^^  is 
a  supernatural  institute  built  on  the  word  of  God,  the  ^^ state'' ^ 
is  a  natural  institute  built  on  a  foundation  no  less  divine,  viz., 
"man  made  in  the  image  of  God,"  the  law  of  conscience  graven 
in  his  breast.  And  because  the  constitution  of  man  is  a  moral 
one,  and  the  state  rests  upon  man, — not  man  on  the  state, — 
therefore,  in  its  last  analysis,  the  constitution  of  the  state, 
resting  on  man,  must  rest  upon  God.  An  atheistic  state  can- 
not survive,  and  an  immoral  state  must  perish.  All  Pagan- 
dom has  taught  us  this.  In  the  wild  rush  of  our  modern  ma- 
terialistic development,  we  might  well  afford  to  sit  at  the  feet 
of  a  pagan  Aristotle,  and  learn  that  "the  rule  of  law  is  the 


362  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

rule  of  God  and  of  reason,  since  the  state  is  organized  for  the 
sake  of  justice  and  a  good  life,  and  the  good  citizen  is  identical 
with  the  good  man;"  that  "virtue  must  be  the  serious  care  of 
a  state  that  truly  deserves  the  name,  political  society  being  in 
order  to  noble  actions  and  an  honorable  self-sufficing  life."^ 
The  state,  as  a  ^^jmblic  xyerson,^^  must  have  an  immutable  mo- 
rality, not  one  thing  here  and  another  there,  but  the  same 
everywhere,  that  ^'■lex  nata  non  scripta''^  constitutional  to  man 
and  coeternal  with  the  mind  of  God,  whence  it  came,  that 
'^jiis,^^  or  sense  of  natural  right,  apart  from  which  the  state 
has  no  foundation,  save  the  passions,  will,  and  inclinations  of 
men.  A  pagan  Cicero,  by  the  light  of  nature  alone,  could 
recognize  this,  in  his  speech  for  Milo,  praising,  before  the 
judges,  that  immutable  law,  "not  one  thing  at  Athens  and 
another  at  Eome,  but  the  same  everywhere,"  a  law  which  he 
declared  to  be  the  ^^fons  cequitatis,  fundamentum  libertatis,  vin- 
culum societatisy  It  is  true  that  the  legislature  is  the  law- 
making power,  and  that  courts  are  but  instruments  to  declare 
and  enforce  it,  and  that  the  constitution  of  a  state  is  the  re- 
sult of  the  will  of  the  people.  But,  in  "a  government  of 
the  people,  by  the,  people,  and /or  the  people,"  it  behooves  the 
people  to  respect  the  dicta  and  data  of  natural  justice  graved 
in  the  moral  constitution  of  man,  and  which  are  prior  to  the 
constitution  of  the  state;  those  necessary,  primary,  indemon- 
strable, imperial,  and  authoritative,  postulates  of  all  society 
not  yet  dehumanized,  the  bed-rock  and  bottom  of  all  moral 
distinctions  and  mutual  confidence,  apart  from  which  no  guar- 
antees exist  for  justice,  equity,  truth,  or  faith,  between  man 
and  man.  Everything  comes  back,  at  last,  to  personal  integ- 
rity. Onr  rights  and  obligations  grow  out  of  our  relations, 
nor  is  there  a  place  where  all  the  moralities  and  decencies 
that  belong  to  individual  or  associated  life  are  displayed  more 
conspicuously  than  in  those  covenant  or  contract  relations 
which  underlie  the  whole  fabric  of  civilized  society,  and  which, 
if  grounded  injustice  and  truth,  no  legal  technics  or  tricks  of 
practice,  or  judicial  bias,  may  evade  or  destroy.  The  state 
must  have  a  ^' con.science,^''  and  her  morality  must  be  something 
other  than  the  evolutionary  "maxims  of  a  generalized  expe- 
diency," as  Herbert  Spencer  and  his  school  would  have  it; 
something  better  than  the  "customary  commercial  morality" 
of  the,  Ueiitliam-Pak^y  school,  whose  only  pole-star  was  that 

1   I'olilicMof  Aristotlo  f.Iowi'tl),  Hook,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  '.). 


I 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  363 

only  ''what  is  expedient  is  right ! "  Expedient  it  may  be  to 
amend  the  constitution  and  pledge  the  faith  of  a  state  to  men 
who  confide  in  her  morality.  Expedient  it  may  be  to  repudi- 
ate that  faith,  and  break  covenant  rather  than  keep  it,  and 
while  condemning  in  one  breath  the  divine  right  of  kings  to 
be  tyrants,  commend  in  the  next  the  human  right  of  states 
to  be  thieves.  But,  when  once  such  "expediency"  has  fully 
usurped  the  throne  of  "right,"  and  politicians,  people,  legis- 
latures, courts,  and  magistrates,  bow  down  to  worship  this 
idol  of  their  hands,  the  one  right  that  remains  is  the  right  to 
invoke  divine  "judgment"  to  wipe  out  from  existence  an  or- 
ganized system  of  robbery,  falsehood,  fraud,  and  oppression, 
too  deep  for  human  plumb-line  to  sound,  too  shameful  for 
human  conscience  to  bear.  Apart  from  immutable  morality, 
the  laws  of  a  state  are  vain.  "  What  avail  vain  laws  ajyart  from 
morals  r^^ 

Sibley,  Flandrau,  Marshall,  Davis,  Pillsbury,  Johnson, 
Wilson,  and  others,  who  insisted  that  Minnesota  should  re- 
deem her  obligations, — names  worthy  to  be  remembered, — 
were  contending,  not  so  much  for  the  mere  form  of  an  external 
contract,  as  for  the  backmost,  bottommost  principles  of  nat- 
ural, civil,  and  moral  right,  the  wreck  of  which,  by  the  people, 
was  the  shame  of  the  state.  Xor  was  it  of  small  significance 
that  the  greatest  Eoman  lawyer  and  orator  of  his  time,  a  man 
versed  in  moral  science,  not  less  than  in  jurisprudence,  the 
foremost  statesman  of  his  day,  always  advised  the  sous  of 
Eomulus  to  act,  not  from  the  force  of  an  ^^ obligation ^  or  out- 
ward statute,  binding,  as  if  with  iron  hand,  some  criminal 
ready  to  escape,  but  from  the  force  of  an  ^^officiwii^^  or  sense 
of  moral  duty  persuading  from  within;  in  other  words,  to  act 
from  the  force  of  ^^  conscience  ^^  implanted  and  unperverted,  a 
power  apart  from  which  all  obligations,  covenants,  and  con- 
tracts, are  ^^^yacta  nuda,^^  and  worse  than  in  vain.  A  state 
without  a  conscience  is  the  enemy  of  every  man's  home,  of 
every  man's  business,  and  of  all  mankind.  "An  honest  man 
is  the  noblest  work  of  God,"  and  an  honest  state  is  the  noblest 
work  of  man.  The  "Ten  Commandments"  were  the  consti- 
tution of  the  Jewish  commonwealth,  and  it  was  to  the  credit 
of  the  Christian  state,  in  the  hour  of  its  formation,  that  it 


1  "  Quid  leges,  sine  moribus, 
T'onrp  proficient  f 

—  Horace  Odes,  Lib.  Ill,  Ode  24. 


364  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

engrossed  the  Ten  Commandments  and  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  in  the  Theodosian  Code.  In  that  one  majestic  sentence 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  which  ordains  that 
contracts  shall  not  be  impaired,  all  the  moralities  of  life  are  cov- 
ered, and  all  the  rights  and  relations  of  the  citizen  and  the 
state,  formed  upon  these  moralities,  are  protected. 

As  to  General  Sibley's  course,  on  the  ^'■hond  question,^''  he 
is  a  blind  reader  of  facts  who  cannot  see  that  the  character 
shining  here  with  such  moral  luster,  in  the  midst  of  surround- 
ing corruption,  is  the  same  character  that  shone  so  brightly, 
in  reference  to  the  ^'■Indian  question,^ ^  when,  in  the  midst  of 
the  National  Congress,  he  pleaded  the  same  cause  in  behalf 
of  the  red  man,  defrauded,  oppressed,  and  deceived,  not  alone 
by  the  state  but  by  the  nation  itself.  If  Aristides  merited 
the  title  of  "just,^^  and  Socrates  deserved  a  name  for  teaching 
'^ manners^ ^  to  the  youth  in  the  streets  of  Athens,  Minneso- 
tians  will  not  withhold  the  like  praise  from  him  who  raised  his 
voice  in  both  national  and  state  legislatures,  and  in  the  execu- 
tive chair,  in  defense  of  the  same  cause  that  made  their  fame 
immortal.  An  example  of  public  fidelity  and  incorruptibil- 
ity, like  this,  lifting  itself  aloft  in  the  forefront  of  the  history 
of  the  state,  and  standing  firm  amid  all  subsequent  conflicts 
and  strifes,  is  of  priceless  value  to  the  young  men  and  people 
of  the  state.  Like  the  olive  tree,  sung  by  Sophocles  and  sacred 
to  Minerva,  it  is  a  plant  not  set  by  human  hands,  of  terror  to 
its  foes,  and  protection  to  its  friends;  an  immortal  tree  no 
storms  can  uproot  or  destroy.  If  any  of  all  the  sons  of  Min- 
nesota is  entitled  modestly  to  repeat  the  words  of  the  Ara- 
bian emir,  it  is  Henry  Hastings  Sibley,  her  first  governor, — 
^^I put  on  righteousness,  and  it  clothed  me.  My  judgment  was  a 
robe  and  a  diadem.  My  glory  was  fresh  in  me,  and  my  bow  was 
renewed  in  my  hand.^^ 


The  retirement  of  General  Sibley  from  the  hall  of  the 
state  legislature  (1871)  did  not  relieve  him  from  the  burdens 
of  duty  to  which  he  was  called,  notwithstanding  his  wish  for  a 
life  more  serene  and  free  from  care.  Whenever  the  interests 
of  tlic  city,  state,  or  even  of  the  nation, — whenever  municipal 
advancement,  the  cause  of  education,  financial  progress,  public 
morals,  social  benefit,  or  protracted  service  —  demanded  men 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  365 

of  integrity,  benevolence,  talent,  experience,  influence,  and 
character,  his  name  was  among  the  first  to  be  mentioned,  and 
his  co-operation  the  first  to  be  sought.  His  long  life,  and  ac- 
tive career,  and  stainless  record,  as  a  public  man,  his  promi- 
nence in  every  enterprise  that  engaged  the  energies  of  his 
fellow  citizens,  and  the  universal  confidence  reposed  in  his 
judgment,  entitled  him  to  the  conceded  rank  of  the  ^^ First 
Oitizeyi  of  Minnesota.^''  With  advancing  years  his  honors  still 
continued  to  be  multiplied. 

In  1872,  he  was  appointed  ''chairman  of  the  board  of  com- 
missioners to  select  and  purchase,  for  the  city  of  St.  Paul,  the 
site  of  a  public  park,"  on  a  grand  scale,  the  result  of  which 
was  the  choice  of  the  ground  at  Lake  Como.  In  1873,  he  was 
elected  a  director  in  the  First  National  Bank,  and  still  remains 
in  its  service.  In  1874,  he  was  appointed,  by  Governor  Davis, 
president  of  the  State  Normal  School  Board. 

The  confidence,  however,  reposed  by  the  national  govern- 
ment in  his  personal  "integrity,  ability,  and  discretion,"  and 
in  his  large  Indian  experience,  soon  called  him  again  to  serve 
his  country,  on  one  of  her  most  important  commissions,  a  com- 
mission no  less  than  to  supervise  the  operations  of  the  whole 
Indian  department,  in  reference  to  vast  appropriations  and 
contingent  expenses,  North,  East,  South,  and  West,  as  pro- 
vided for  under  a  recent  act  of  Congress.  The  document  is  as 
follows: 
Ulysses  S.  Grant,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  to  all  who  shall  see 

these  presents,  greeting: 

Kuow  ye,  That,  reposing  special  trust  and  confidence  in  the  integrity, 
ability,  and  discretion  of  Henry  H.  Sibley  of  Minnesota,  I  do  appoint  him 
to  be  a  commissioner  under  the  fourth  section  of  an  act  making  appropria- 
tions for  the  current  and  contingent  expenses  of  the  Indian  department, 
approved  April  10,  1869,  and  do  authorize  and  empower  him  to  execute  and 
fulfill  the  duties  of  that  ofiice  according  to  law,  and  to  hold  the  said  ofiice, 
with  all  the  rights  and  emoluments  thereunto  legally  appertaining  unto  him 
the  said  Henry  H.  Sibley,  during  the  pleasure  of  the  president  of  the  United 
States  for  the  time  being. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  caused  these  letters  to  be  made  patent, 
and  the  seal  of  the  department  of  the  interior  to  be  hereunto  aflixed. 
Given  under  my  hand,  at  the  City  of  Washington,  the  third  day  of  July, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy-five,  and 
of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America  the  ninety-eighth. 

By  the  President, 

U.  S.  Grant. 
C.  Delano, 

Secretary  of  the  Interior. 


366  ANCESTEY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES  OF 

In  the  year  1875,  when  the  state  was  scourged  by  the  ''lo- 
cust plague"  that  devoured  the  substance  of  both  man  and 
beast,  in  large  sections  of  the  state,  he  was  appointed,  by 
Governor  Davis,  as  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Belief  in 
behalf  of  the  sufferers,  and  discharged  the  duties  incident  to 
that  mission  with  such  promptness,  wisdom,  and  fidelity,  as 
to  call  forth  the  public  thanks  of  the  chief  executive.  In 
the  same  year  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  American  Geo- 
graphical Society,  Cooper  Institute,  New  York,  and,  again, 
was  chosen  president  of  the  Minnesota  State  Historical  Society. 
Once  more,  he  was  summoned  to  act  upon  another  Indian  com- 
mission. In  addition  to  this,  he  was  nominated,  by  acclama- 
tion, in  his  district,  for  Congress,  a  district  scoring  20,000  Ee- 
publican  majority,  and  though  conscious  of  coming  defeat, 
yet  accepted  the  nomination  in  deference  to  the  wishes  of  his 
political  associates,  and  out  of  regard  for  his  warm  personal 
friend,  Major  General  Hancock,  then  a  candidate  for  the  presi- 
dency of  the  United  States. 

In  what  high  esteem  he  was  held  by  the  regents  of  the 
State  University,  may  be  learned  from  the  fact  that,  when,  in 
1876,  General  Sibley  was  burdened  with  many  cares,  and  much 
serving,  and  desired  to  resign  his  position  as  president  of  the 
board,  which  he  had  filled  with  such  credit  to  himself,  and 
such  benefit  to  the  institution,  the  proposition  was  instantly 
repelled.  Of  this,  the  following  correspondence  is  but  a  por- 
tion of  the  pleasing  evidence: 

State  of  Minnesota, 
Executive  Department, 
St.  Paul,  May  19,  1876. 

My  Dear  General:  It  is  with  sincere  regret  I  have  to  acknowledge 
the  receipt  of  your  communication  of  the  seventeenth  instant,  tendering 
your  resignation  as  president  and  member  of  the  hoard  of  regents  of  the 
University  of  Minnesota,  and  as  president  and  member  of  the  State  Normal 
Board.  I  have  but  a  moment  to  consider  the  communication.  Please  ex- 
cui5e  my  non-acceptance  of  the  resignation  of  one  whose  services  are  so  valu- 
a>)le  and  important  to  this  state,  until  at  least  I  can  have  the  opportunity 
of  a  consultation  with  you.     I  am, 

Truly  Yours, 

J.  S.  PiLLSBURY. 
To  General  II.  H.  Siblei/,  Si.  Paul,  Minn. 

University  ok  Minnesota, 
Minneapolis.  May  21,  1876. 
General:     On  receiving  your  letter  on  Saturday  I  went  at  once  to 
Governor  Pillsbury  and  l)egged  him  on  behalf  of  the  faculty  not  to  accept 
your  resignation.     Your  retirement  from  tlie  board  and  from  your  ofiice  in 
the  board  at  this  time  would  })e  a  great  calamity  to  the  institution. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  367 

No  new  man,  however  great  his  natural  abilities,  can  perform  the  ser- 
vices which  your  long  experience  and  acquaintance  with  the  affairs  of  the 
university  enable  you  easily  to  render.  Your  place  cannot  be  filled.  Per- 
mit me,  for  myself  and  my  colleagues,  most  earnestly  and  respectfully  to 
urge  that,  when  Governor  Pillsbury  comes  to  you  to  beg  that  you  will  with- 
draw your  resignation,  you  consent  still  longer  to  sacrifice  your  valuable 
time  and  personal  ease  to  the  public  service.     I  am.  General, 

Most  Truly  and  Respectfully  Yours,  etc., 

Wm.  W.  Folwell. 
General  H.  H.  Sibley,  St.  Paul,  3Iinn. 

In  1878,  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Oakland  Cemetery- 
Association,  and  continues  still  to  discharge  the  duties  per- 
taining to  that  office.  In  1879,  he  was  chosen  to  preside  at 
the  celebration  of  the  "Thirteenth  Anniversary  of  the  Minne- 
sota State  Historical  Society,"  delivering  the  opening  address 
to  a  large  and  intelligent  audience  gathered  in  the  representa- 
tives' hall  at  the  capitol,  and  reading  to  them  the  letter  of 
President  Lincoln  authorizing  the  execution  of  the  Indians, 
in  the  winter  of  1862.  In  1881,  the  year  before  the  final  set- 
tlement of  the  question  of  the  state  bonds,  his  fortunes  saw 
him  again  leading  the  party  with  which  he  had  always  acted, 
in  one  more  effort  to  redeem  the  honor  of  the  state,  his  manly 
figure  adorning  the  president's  chair  in  the  Democratic  State 
Convention.  The  following  year,  1883,  he  was,  once  more,  ap- 
pointed by  the  president  of  the  United  States,  as  president  of 
the  commission  of  the  United  States  Government  to  settle  all 
claims  for  damages  done  to  the  ChipxDCwa  Indians  by  construc- 
tion of  national  reservoirs. 

The  arduous  activiftes,  which  burdens  so  multiplied  im- 
posed upon  General  Sibley,  were  not  unmingled  with  a  com- 
pensation of  social  enjoyment,  and  frequent  public  recognition 
of  his  personal  worth.  On  any  unusual  occasion  pertaining 
to  the  welcome  of  a  celebrated  character  hailing  from  abroad, 
or  a  citizen  of  eminence  from  another  state,  or  relating  to 
events  connected  with  the  history  of  his  own  state,  or  of  the 
nation,  an  assemblage  without  his  presence  could  only  be  want- 
ing in  one  of  the  features  most  essential  to  its  success. 

As  years  passed  away  and  planetary  revolution  completed 
bi-centennial,  semi-centennial,  and  quarto- centennial  periods, 
dated  from  special  events  or  great  occurrences  in  the  life  of 
the  Territory  and  the  State  of  Minnesota,  and  brightened  the 
recollection  of  scenes  long  to  be  remembered,  it  was  but  natu- 
ral to  institute  festivities  fittingly  to  celebrate  the  same.  In 
these,  also,  General  Sibley  bore  a  conspicuous  part. 


368  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

The  year  1880  was  the  ^'Bi- Centennial  Anniversary  of  the 
Discovery  of  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony ^^^  by  Hennepin,  an  event 
celebrated  by  a  large  gathering  of  representative  men  of  the 
State  of  Minnesota,  meeting  in  a  grand  arbor  erected  for  the 
occasion,  on  the  campus  of  the  State  University,  at  Minneap- 
olis. By  unanimous  voice,  General  Sibley,  president  of  the 
board  of  regents  of  the  university,  ofiiciated  as  president  of 
the  bi-centennial,  and  was  himself  the  central  figure,  and  mas- 
ter of  ceremonies.  Among  the  notable  men  then  present  were 
Alexander  Eamsey,  Henry  M.  Eice,  Russell  Blakeley,  three 
of  the  Washburn  family,  Governor  Cadwallader  of  Wisconsin, 
Archbishop  Tache  of  Manitoba,  Bishop  La  Flesh  of  Canada, 
the  Eev.  Dr.  Neill  of  St.  Paul,  Bishops  Ireland  and  Grace, 
General  E.  W.  Johnson,  and  not  least  of  all  the  renowned 
general  of  the  United  States  Army,  William  Tecumseh  Sher- 
man. Never  again  will  any  occasion  bring  this  constellation 
of  illustrious  men  together. 

The  splendid  ^^  Inaugural  Banquef''  given  by  the  citizens  of 
Minnesota  to  Governor  Hubbard,  on  the  evening  of  January 
9,  1882,  was  an  occasion  of  proud  compliment  to  a  brave  sol- 
dier, a  worthy  citizen,  and  an  accomplished  gentleman,  whom 
the  people  of  the  state  had  honored  by  calling  him  to  fill  the 
executive  chair.  It  was  only  appropriate  that  General  Sibley 
should  preside  at  the  banquet,  and  deliver  the  address  of  wel- 
come, and,  in  the  name  of  the  state,  salute  the  new  governor, 
extending  to  him  the  cordial  congratulations  of  the  brilliant 
gathering.  « 

Saturday  evening,  November  7,  1884,  the  ^^  Semi- Centennial 
Anniversary  of  the  Advent  of  the  Prince  of  Pioneers^''  to  Minne- 
sota, a  costly  banquet,  sumptuous  with  the  choicest  prepa- 
rations, gay  witli  floral  decorations,  and  select  with  the  pres- 
ence of  his  warm  admirers,  among  whom  were  the  elite  of  the 
city  of  St.  Paul,  graced  the  ladies'  ordinary  at  the  Metropolitan 
Hotel.  Tlie  tables,  arranged  on  three  sides  of  the  room, 
brought  the  guests  close  together,  General  Sibley  being  seated 
in  front  of  the  centre  table,  and  at  the  middle  of  the  same. 
Commodore  Kittson  on  his  right,  and  Judge  Nelson  of  the 
United  States  Circuit  Court  on  his  left.  On  the  back  of  the 
hill  of  fare,  beautiful  an<l  chaste,  were  printed  the  dates  and 
words  of  congratulation: 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  369 


/SSif.  JSSlj.. 


METRDPDLITAN  HOTEL, 

NOVEMBER    7,    1884. 


Among  the  distinguished  guests  present  on  this  occasion 
were  men  eminent  in  civil,  political,  and  military  life.  Gover- 
nor Hubbard,  ex-Governor  Ramsey,  United  States  Senator 
McMillan,  ex-Governor  Davis,  Judges  Mitchell,  Flandrau, 
ICTelson,  and  Hall,  Generals  Averill,  Johnson,  and  Sanborn, 
Hons.  Kelly  and  Becker,  besides  others  of  note.  The  ban- 
quet ended,  the  guests  rose  to  their  feet,  while  Mr.  P.  R.  L. 
Hardenbergh  announced  the  toast  of  the  evening  in  honor  of 
•General  Sibley,  no  less  than  this, 

A  sentiment  responded  to  by  ex-Governor  Davis,  "in  one  of 
the  neatest  and  most  appropriate  addresses  ever  delivered  on 
such  an  occasion."^  In  a  brief  response  to  the  eloquent  trib- 
ute by  the  ex-governor.  General  Sibley  alluded  to  the  scenes 
and  events  of  years  gone  by,  and  closed  his  remarks  with  the 
following  words: 

"My  public  and  private  record  has  been  made  up,  and  faulty  and  imper- 
fect as  it  may  be,  it  is  now  too  late  to  alter  or  amend  it.  I  thank  God  that 
he  has  spared  me  to  see  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  my  advent  to  what  is 
now  Minnesota,  and  to  witness  the  transformation  of  this  region  from  a 

1  St.  Paul  Daily  Globe,  Saturday,  November  8, 1884. 
2-1 


370  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

howling  wilderness,  tenanted  alone  by  wild  beasts  and  savage  men,  into  a 
proud  and  powerful  commonwealth;  and  I  especially  thank  him  for  sur- 
rounding me  in  the  evening  of  my  days  with  troops  of  loving  friends  of 
both  sexes,  who  overlook  my  many  imperfections  in  their  desire  to  smooth 
my  pathway  to  the  grave. 

"  It  is  a  great  consolation  to  me  that  I  can  at  least  leave  my  children  the 
heritage  of  an  honest  name,  and  to  my  many  friends  a  remembrance,  not 
only  of  my  devotion  to  them,  but  of  my  earnest  and  long-continued  labors 
to  advance  the  interests  and  welfare  of  our  beloved  Minnesota.  God  grant 
to  each  one  of  you  a  long  life  and  a  fall  measure  of  prosperity. ' '  ^ 

Scenes  and  occasions  like  these  occur  but  once  in  a  life- 
time, and  are  worthy  of  record  in  any  history  that  recites  even 
the  fragments  of  a  career  impossible  to  be  repeated. 

The  following  year,  1885,  General  Sibley  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  Minnesota  Club,  an  association  of  the  chief  pro- 
fessional and  business  men  of  the  city  of  St.  Paul. 

On  Saturday,  August  8,  1885,  the  memorable  day  that  saw 
the  national  obsequies  of  that  great  commander.  General 
Ulysses  S.  Grant,  late  president  of  the  United  States,  Major 
General  Sibley  was  chosen  master  of  ceremonies  at  the  capi- 
tol,  in  St.  Paul,  where  10,000  people  were  gathered  to  honor 
the  illustrious  dead.  His  extempore  words  on  that  occasion 
are  worthy  of  preservation  not  less  as  a  most  appropriate 
tribute  to  the  great  departed,  than  as  a  memorial  of  the 
patriotic  spirit  of  a  man  who,  though  differing  in  politics  from 
him  he  eulogized,  could  yet  appreciate  his  value,  acknowledge 
his  worth,  and,  lamenting  with  others  his  sad  demise,  bespeak 
his  future  fame: 

"  CoMEADES,  Companions,  and  Fbllow  Citizens:  This  is  no  ordinary 
occasion  On  this  day  the  citizens  of  the  republic,  at  home  and  in  foreign 
lands,  irrespective  of  section,  party,  color,  or  creed,  assemble  to  express 
their  profound  sorrow  at  the  recent  death  of  America's  noblest  citizen  and 
most  illustrious  soldier.  Never  since  the  base  assassination  of  the  lament- 
ed President  Lincoln  has  there  been  such  an  universal  outburst  of  grief  in 
all  the  states  and  territories  of  the  Union  as  has  been  manifested  since  the 
announcement  of  the  death  of  General  Ulysses  S.  Grant.  Nor  by  any  means 
ha-s  it  been  confined  to  our  own  people  or  our  own  race.  Great  Britain  has 
signalized  the  sad  event  by  memorial  services  in  Westminster  Abbey,  par- 
ticipated in  by  the  most  distinguished  individuals  of  every  class  in  the  king- 
dom. Kxpressions  ol'deep  sympathy  liave  emanated  from  the  rulers  of  f]uro- 
pcan  nations,  and,  indeed,  from  all  i)arts  of  the  world.  Such  honors  paid  to 
the  memory  of  a  private  citizen  have  never  before  been  so  universally  ac- 
corded, and  it  may  with  confidence  be  predicted,  never  again  will  be  while 
the  world  stands.     "We  may  well  inquire  how  it  is  that  the  demise  of  the 

1  Pen  Pictures  of  8t.  Paul,  Minn. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  371 

late  commander-in-chief  of  our  armies,  and  suhsetjiient  president  for  two 
successive  terms,  has  created  so  profound  an  impression  of  sorrow  upon  the 
whole  civilized  world.  Magnificent  as  were  his  achievements  on  the  battle- 
field, there  have  been  others  whose  success  has  been  equally  marvelous.  As 
a  statesman,  history  has  embalmed  the  names  of  many  who  were  his  superiors 
in  that  capacity,  and  as  a  man  he  was  not  exempt  from  the  frailties  of  our 
common  humanity.  But  in  that  silent,  apparently  stolid,  man  there  were 
embodied  sterling  qualities  that  the  force  of  circumstances  developed  from 
time  to  time,  and  which  won  the  hearts,  even  of  those  who  had  manfully 
fought  him  through  a  long  and  bloody  war.  In  the  hour  of  victory  he  did 
not  exult  over  or  seek  to  humiliate  a  gallant  but  fallen  foe.  He  cast  his 
shield  of  protection  over  the  captive  generals,  against  the  determination  of 
politicians  in  high  station  to  bring  them  to  the  scaftbld.  The  treatment  he 
extended  to  the  conquered  Southerners  was  far  more  lenient  than  they  had 
dared  to  hope  for,  and  by  his  wise  and  magnanimous  course,  he  accomplished 
more  in  reviving  their  latent  loyalty  to  the  Union  than  all  other  causes  com- 
bined. No  marvel  then  that  their  feelings  are  stirred  to  the  profoundest 
depths  at  the  loss  of  him  who  had  proved  himself  to  be  their  friend  in  times 
of  direst  need. 

"General  Grant  was  a  modest  man.  He  affected  none  of  the  '  pomp  and 
circumstance  of  glorious  war.'  Indeed,  he  regarded  war  between  civilized 
nations  as  a  relic  of  barbarism,  and  his  well-known  efforts  to  induce  the 
great  powers  to  submit  all  grave  questions  to  the  decision  of  an  international 
tribunal,  evinced  the  sincerity  of  his  desire  for  the  prevalence  of  peace.  He 
did  not  hesitate  to  attribute  the  success  in  the  field  more  to  the  gallantry  of 
the  officers  and  soldiers  of  his  command  than  to  any  merit  of  his  own,  and 
he  was  prompt  to  do  justice  to  the  victim  of  inadvertent  or  premeditated 
wrong  when  satisfied  that  such  wrong  had  been  done.  General  Grant  was 
charged,  during  the  war,  with  being  prodigal  of  the  lives  of  his  soldiers,  but 
the  result  demonstrated  that  the  sacrifice,  however  painful,  was  unavoid- 
able. The  fate  of  the  Union  of  these  states  was  at  stake.  A  powerful 
enemy,  under  the  guidance  of  skillful  and  determined  leaders,  was  bent  on 
its  destruction,  and  it  was  only  to  be  prevented  by  a  series  of  bloody  con- 
flicts, and  an  enormous  expenditure  of  human  life.  To  effect  this  vital  ob- 
ject. General  Grant  spared  neither  himself  nor  those  under  his  command, 
for  he  and  they  were  determined  to  conquer  or  to  die.  Better,  far  better, 
to  fall  in  battle  than,  defeated,  to  live  citizens,  or  subjects,  as  the  case 
might  be,  of  a  dissevered  and  discordant  country,  and  cease  to  belong  to 
one  of  the  leading  powers  of  the  world.  It  was  during  the  last  few  months 
of  his  life,  while  suffering  from  a  malignant  and  incurable  disease,  that 
there  were  developed  traits  of  character  in  General  Grant  that  still  more 
endeared  him  to  his  countrymen.  The  indomitable  will  which  enabled 
him,  even  while  enduring  agonizing  pain,  to  continue  his  labors,  and  happily 
to  finish  his  memoirs;  the  all-embracing  charity  he  manifested  for  his  fel- 
low men,  the  keen  desire,  so  often  expressed,  that  sectional  feeling  should 
be  allayed,  and  that  the  people  of  the  North  and  South  might  once  more 
meet  as  brethren  and  as  Americans;  the  devotion  he  displayed  to  his  dear 
wife  and  children,  and  the  sublime  and  child-like  patience  and  resignation 
with  which  he  submitted  to  his  inevitable  doom.     These  traits  were  daily 


372  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

spread  before  the  public  in  all  their  details,  uutil  men,  women,  and  children 
throughout  the  laud  became  alike  interested,  and  hoped  to  the  last  and 
prayed  that  his  precious  life  might  be  prolonged.  But  the  fiat  of  the 
Almighty  had  gone  forth,  and  the  spirit  of  General  Grant  returned  to  him 
who  gave  it.  We  mourn  his  loss,  but  we  have  the  consolation  of  knowing 
that  his  name  and  fame  will  be  venerated  as  long  as  the  republic  survives, 
with  those  of  George  Washington  and  Abraham  Lincoln." 

In  the  spring  of  1886,  General  Sibley  was  invited  to  pre- 
pare a  lecture  on  the  pioneers  of  Western  civilization,  and 
reminiscences  of  early  times  in  Minnesota,  and  delivered  the 
same  in  the  month  of  May,  before  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  of  St.  Paul,  at  their  special  request. 

September  1,  1887,  brought  the  '^  First  Quarter- Centennial 
Beunion  and  Banquei''^  of  the  heroes  who  had  survived  the 
memorable  disaster  and  victory  at  Birch  Coolie,  September  2, 
1862.  The  gathering  in  St.  Paul  was  one  of  intense  interest, 
and  General  Sibley,  whose  "midnight  march"  and  "morn- 
ing charge"  redeemed  the  desperate  situation,  presided,  once 
more,  with  his  accustomed  dignity  and  grace.  Among  the 
survivors  present  on  this  occasion,  in  addition  to  their  chief, 
were  Governor  William  R.  Marshall,  Judge  James  J.  Egan, 
Colonel  William  Crooks,  Adjutant  A.  P.  Connolly,  Colonel 
H.  P.  Grant,  W.  H.  Grant,  E.  S.  Beck,  W.  Baigner,  H. 
Martin,  W.  Weed,  W.  Hart,  D.  McCauley,  Sergeant  Gardner, 
P.  Brunelle,  F.  Trefan,  James  Auge,  and  others,  who  recalled 
and  recited  to  each  other  the  incidents  of  that  wellnigh  ruin- 
ous mistake  of  encampment,  yet  decisive  engagement  with 
the  same  murderous  tribe  by  whom,  in  later  days,  Custer  and 
his  three  hundred  dragoons  were  massacred  in  the  valley  of 
the  Little  Big  Horn.  As  was  to  be  expected,  all  praised  their 
loved  commander,  and  the  whole  company  entered,  heart  and 
soul,  into  the  description  given  by  the  eloquent  attorney. 
Judge  Egan,  as  he  pictured  the  crisis,  saying,  "McPhail's 
distant  artillery  cheered  tlie  surrounded  men,  a  little,  about 
noon,  but  this  soon  ceased,  and  another  awful  night  was 
passed,  fortunately  without  attack.  Every  man  expected  to 
die  on  the  morrow,  but  as  the  Indians  prepared  for  the  final 
rusli,  the  roar  of  Sibley's  guns  was  heard,  and  the  hero  of 
Mendota,  with  his  gallant  men,  swept  up, 

"Like  eagles  to  their  i>rey; 
And  carrion-kitc,  and  Jay-bird, 
Fled,  screaming,  faraway!" 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  373 

In  May,  1888,  General  Sibley  was  unanimously  elected  com- 
mander of  the  Loyal  Legion  of  the  State  of  Minnesota,  and 
June  7,  1888,  decorated  with  the  emblems  of  his  office,  the 
chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  state  holding  the 
second  place,  a  tribute  offered  not  as  a  matter  of  mere  routine, 
but  as  a  cordial  recognition  of  invaluable  service  rendered  to 
the  state  and  to  the  nation. 

The  ^'' Grand  Annual  Reception  and  Banquet  of  the  Loyal  Le- 
gion,^^  when  the  magnates  of  the  state  and  many  distinguished 
guests,  both  civil  and  military,  met  at  this  date  in  full  force, 
in  the  capacious  rooms  of  the  Hotel  Eyan,  to  install  General 
Sibley  into  the  high  office  of  "Commander  of  the  Legion," 
ought  not  to  pass  unnoticed.  His  ancestors  had  belonged  to 
the  ancient  "Order  of  the  Cincinnati,"  formed  at  the  close  of 
the  Revolutionary  "War,  and  it  was  fitting  that  their  illustrious 
descendant  should  be  invested  with  the  chief  dignity  in  an  or- 
ganization of  not  less  importance  and  renown.  The  dining 
room  of  the  hotel  and  its  approaches  were  decorated  with  a 
profusion  of  the  national  and  state  bunting,  and  the  choicest 
productions  of  the  florist's  skill,  displayed  in  the  most  tasteful 
arrangement.  Under  a  canopy  of  silk  American  flags  shone 
the  celebrated  picture  of  "Sheridan's Ride,"  representing  the 
great  general  on  his  black  charger,  bounding  from  Winchester 
to  the  battle-field,  twenty  miles  away.  Portraits  of  Generals 
J.  B.  Sanborn,  W.  R.  Marshall,  H.  H.  Sibley,  and  ex-Governor 
Ramsey,  the  great  "War  Governor,"  hung  at  the  head  of  the 
stairway,  surmounted  by  a  shield  bearing  the  heraldry  of  the 
commandery,  and  supported  by  the  standard  of  the  Legion 
embroidered  in  gold.  On  the  large  mantelpiece  of  the  corri- 
dor the  great  American  eagle  spread  his  outstretched  wings. 
Flowering  plants  and  shrubs  stood  everywhere,  and  a  brilliant 
assemblage  of  ladies  added  beauty  to  the  splendor  of  the  scene. 
The  Third  Infantry  band,  stationed  in  the  rotunda,  discoursed 
the  national  music  with  stirring  effect,  and,  during  the  banquet, 
an  orchestra  from  the  same  charmed  the  ears  of  the  delighted 
guests.    The  menu  card  bore  the  following  lines: 

"Halt  the  column,  rest  a  moment, 
Stack  the  guns,  the  fires  light, 
Here  is  foraging  in  plenty, 
Let  us  bivouac  here  to-night." 

The  stores  of  the  commissary  department  having  been  thor- 
oughly discussed,  ex-Governor  Marshall  delivered  an  appro- 


374  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

priate  eulogy  iipou  the  life  and  career  of  the  commander  elect, 
General  Sibley,  referring  in  high  terms  also  to  ex-Governor 
Ramsey  and  ex-Senator  Henry  M.  Rice,  who  were  among  the 
distinguished  personages  of  the  evening.  General  Sibley  then 
made  the  "Address  of  Welcome,"  and  announced  his  accept- 
ance of  the  high  honor  conferred  upon  him,  expressing  his 
great  satisfaction  at  the  sight  of  so  many  of  his  old  comrades 
who  had  shared  with  him  the  dangers  and  the  victories  of  the 
Sioux  War  of  1862  and  1863.  At  the  close  of  his  address,  the 
following  poem,  greeted  with  applause  at  its  conclusion  by  the 
whole  company,  was  read  by  Captain  Henry  Castle,  in  honor 
of  General  Sibley: 

OUR   NEW   COMMANDER. 

Companions!  why  the  grateful  words  withhold 

That  leap  to  voice  our  heart-throbs'  loyal  swell? 

We,  honoring,  honored  are;  let  lips  be  bold 
In  tril)ute  to  the  name  we  love  so  well. 

Our  new  commander!    Let  the  record  gleam 

With  blazonry  of  all  his  lame  and  worth! 
No  risk  of  chance  or  change.     No  fear  of  him  — 

Rock-buttressed  as  the  pedestals  of  earth. 

In  mettled  youth  the  stalwart  pioneer 

Who  strode  the  forests;  scaled  the  dizzy  steep; 

Taught  the  swart  savage  justice  to  revere, 

And  plowed  the  path  of  empire  wide  and  deep. 

In  early  manhood  builder  of  the  state  — 

A  leader  and  a  master,  laying  down 
The  rod  and  rifle  for  the  realm  sedate 

Of  legislator  —  and  the  civic  crown. 

In  life's  ripe  prime  the  soldier,  whose  strong  arm 
To  periled  thousands  wrought  deliverance. 

Whose  cool  and  prudent  prowess  quelled  alarm 
As  quailed  the  foe  before  his  angry  glance. 

In  stately  age  the  counselor  and  friend, 

The  splendid  model  of  our  men  to  be. 
Sereuest  sage!    Gentlest  of  gentlemen! 

Fit  autumn  for  the  summer's  fulgeucy. 

His  past  secure  in  history's  golden  urn, 

Honored  and  loved  through  all  life's  shining  span, 

His  future  safe  —  late  be  lie  ours  to  mourn 
The  i'lTtit  and  noblest  Minnesotian. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  375 

Such  praise,  cordial  as  unanimous,  and  true  as  deserved, 
was  a  fitting  accompaniment  to  the  investiture  of  General  Sib- 
ley with  the  chief  dignity  of  the  comniandery. 

Honors,  however,  of  a  different  and  not  less  illustrious 
character, — honors  academic  and  literary, —  from  one  of  the 
oldest  and  most  distinguished  American  institutions  in  the 
East,  and  of  world-wide  fame,  began  to  greet  him,  in  recogni- 
tion not  only  of  his  military  merit  but  of  his  civil  services, 
his  high  personal  character,  and  what  he  had  achieved  for  the 
cause  of  education  in  the  State  of  Minnesota.  June  19,  1888, 
the  following  telegram  was  received  by  General  Sibley  from 
Professor  Magie  of  Princeton  College,  New  Jersey: 

Princeton-,  June  19,  1888. 
To  General  Henry  Hantings  Sibley, 

Dear  Sir:  I  am  directed  to  announce  to  you  that  you  have  been  elected, 
unanimously,  a  member  of  the  Cliosophic  Society  of  Princeton,  Please 
notify  us  of  your  acceptance. 

W.  T.  Magie, 

Professor. 

This  announcement,  startling  and  unexpected,  was  fol- 
lowed by  another,  six  days  later,  viz. : 

Princeton,  June  25,  1888. 
Hon.  Henry  H.  Sibley, 

Dear  Sir:  The  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws,  LL.D.,  has  been  unani- 
mously conferred  upon  you  by  the  trustees  of  Princeton  College,  on  the 
ground  of  your  high  personal  character,  scholarly  attainments,  and  eminent 
public  services,  civil,  military,  and  educational. 

A.  F.  West, 

Professor. 

This  yet  more  unexpected  communication  was  accompanied 
by  an  official  notice  of  the  fact  from  the  secretary  of  the  board 
of  trustees,  as  follows: 

Newark,  New  Jersey,  June  26,  1888. 

The  Hon.  Henry  Hastings  Sibley,  LL.D., 

My  Dear  Sir:  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  announce  that,  at  their 
last  meeting,  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  was  conferred  on  you 
by  the  trustees  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey. 

Very  Truly  Yours, 

D.  R.  Frazer, 

Clerk  pro  tern. 

To  this  communication,  General  Sibley  replied,  in  the  fol- 
lowing terms: 


376  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

Univeesity  of  Minnesota, 
Eegents'  Office,  St.  Paul,  July  3,  1888. 

D.  R.  Frazer,  Clerk  pro  te)n. ,  Newark,  New  Jersey, 

My  Dear  Sir:  Your  esteemed  favor  of  the  twenty-sixth  ultimo,  noti- 
fying me,  formally,  of  the  action  of  the  trustees  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey, 
conferring  upon  me  the  honorary  degree  of  "Doctor  of  Laws, "  was  duly 
received.  In  accepting  this  unexpected  honor,  permit  me  to  express  my 
high  appreciation  of  the  compliment  thus  paid  me  by  the  authorities  of  one 
of  the  oldest,  if  not  the  oldest,  and  most  famous  of  the  institutions  of  the 
East,  and  my  grateful  thanks  therefor. 

Very  Truly  Yours, 

Henry  H.  Sibley. 

In  addition  to  the  formal  notification,  a  personal  congratu- 
lation was  forwarded  to  General  Sibley,  by  the  Eev.  Francis 
L.  Patton,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  the  newly  inducted  president  of  the 
institution,  and  which  was  duly  acknowledged: 

Peinceton,  New  Jersey,  June  28,  1888, 
Son.  H.  H.  Sibley, 

My  Dear  Sir:  I  was  greatly  pleased  to  learn  that,  just  before  my 
own  induction  into  office,  and  transfer,  under  the  administration  of  Dr. 
McCosh,  the  trustees  of  Princeton  College  had  conferred  upon  you  the  hon- 
orary degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  {Leguvi  Doctor).  I  write  only  to  express  my 
own  pleasure  that  the  highest  academic  title  in  the  gift  of  the  college  has 
been  so  worthily  bestowed,  and  that,  among  those  who  will  henceforth  repre- 
sent us,  in  your  state,  is  one  whose  services  to  the  state  are  so  universally 
known  and  appreciated.  Official  notification  of  the  action  of  the  trustees 
will  have  been  received,  in  all  probability,  ere  this,  through  the  clerk  of  the 
board.     I  am, 

Very  Faithfully  Yours, 

Francis  L.  Patton. 

The  diploma,  in  witness  of  the  honor  conferred,  and  bear- 
ing the  official  seal,  displayed  on  the  colors  of  William  of 
Nassau,  the  Prince  of  Orange,  was  duly  transmitted,  and  as 
duly  acknowledged.  A  facsimile  of  the  parchment  is  seen  on 
the  opposite  page. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D. 


377 


378  ANCESTRY,   LIFE,   AND   TIMES   OF 

It  was  but  natural  that  the  distinguished  president  of  the 
University  of  Minnesota,  present,  at  the  time,  in  New  Haven, 
Connecticut,  and  seeing  in  the  public  press  the  announcement 
of  the  honor  conferred  upon  the  president  of  the  board  of 
regents  of  the  University  of  Minnesota,  should  hasten  to 
transmit  his  own  congratulations  to  the  recipient  of  so  emi- 
nent an  honor.  With  a  warm  pulse-beat.  Dr.  Northrop  sent 
to  General  Sibley  the  following  tribute,  as  handsome  as  it  was 
brief,  cordial,  and  appropriate: 

New  Haven,  Connecticut,  June  30,  1888. 
My  Dear  General  Sibley:     Accept  my  hearty  congratulations  on 
the  well-deserved  honor  yoa  have  received.     After  an  acquaintance  of  four 
years  with  you,  I  am  prepared  to  say  that  I  know  of  no  honor  which  could 
be  conferred  on  you  which  would  not  be  deserved. 

Very  Truly  Yours, 

Cyrus  Northrop. 

The  board  of  regents  of  the  University  of  Minnesota  also 
placed  on  record  the  following  preamble  and  resolution: 

Whereas,  The  honorable  title  of  Doctor  of  Laws  has  been  conferred, 
by  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  upon  the  president  of  this  board,  the  Hon. 
H.  H.  Sibley,  it  is  hereby 

Eesolved,  That  this  board  approves  with  special  gratification  this  rec- 
ognition of  our  fellow  citizen  who  has  eminently  served  our  state  from 
its  earliest  organization,  with  his  sword  in  defense  of  our  homes  on  the 
frontier,  with  his  counsel  as  our  representative  in  the  halls  of  Congress,  and 
as  our  chief  executive,  and  who  now  consents  to  give  us  his  last  years  to 
building  up  a  university  which  will  emulate  the  merits  and  renown  of  the 
institution  which  has  so  honored  him. 

How  thoroughly  the  great  compliment  paid  to  General  Sib- 
ley, by  Princeton,  was  appreciated  by  the  public  press  of  the 
city  of  St.  Paul,  echoing  as  it  did  the  sentiment  of  this  state, 
may  be  learned  from  the  following  editorial  which  appeared 
in  the  Pioneer  Press,  June  30,  1888: 

St.  Paul's  eminent  citizen,  the  oldest  pioneer,  distinguished  alike  for 
his  services  to  the  state  and  to  the  country,  Hon.  Henry  H.  Sibley,  has  just 
been  crowned  with  two  wreuths,  placed  upon  his  head  by  one  of  the  most 
celebrated  among  our  Eastern  literary  institutions.  The  College  of  New 
.Jersey,  with  her  eminent  faculty  and  board  of  directors  and  trustees,  has 
unanimously  conferred  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  (LL.D.),  at  its 
recent  commen<;enient,  upon  General  Sibley,  while  the  Cliosophic  Society  of 
Princeton  h;ts,  at  the  same  time,  elected  him  an  honorary  member  of  its 
learned  fraternity.  Among  the  directors  and  professors  of  this  institution, 
in  wliose  presidential  chair  have  sat  men  like  Witherspoon,  Jonathan 
Edwards,  and  McCosh,  and  whose  present  chief  is  Dr.  Patton,  conceded  to 
be  the  first  dialectician  of  the  age,  are  many  who  are  familiar  with  the  his- 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  379 

tory  of  Minnesota  and  the  career  of  General  Sibley.  The  compliment  to 
this  distinguished  citizen,  first  in  the  territory  and  first  in  the  state,  will 
be  appreciated  by  the  entire  state,  and  remembered  with  delight.  The  only 
question  is  whether  General  Sibley  is  more  honored  in  receiving,  or  Prince- 
ton more  honored  in  bestowing,  the  distinction. 

The  State  University,  of  whose  board  of  regents  General  Sibley  has  so 
long  been  the  head,  will,  though  Princeton  has  stolen  a  march  on  it  in  this 
matter,  undoubtedly  regard  the  honor  as  due  to  itself.  The  alumni  of  Prince- 
ton will  feel  proud  because  its  laurels  are  won  by  one  than  whom  there  is 
none  more  admired,  or  loved  for  his  attainments,  services,  or  personal  worth, 
in  the  state.  The  Territory  of  Minnesota,  the  legislature  of  Minnesota,  the 
judiciary  of  Minnesota,  the  civil  and  military  organizations  and  various 
public  institutions  and  charities  of  Minnesota,  have  heaped  honors  on  his 
head. 

To  the  same  purpose,  the  Daily  Globe,  same  date,  added 
its  commendation,  in  the  following  terms: 

We  congratulate  our  esteemed  citizen.  General  Sibley,  full  of  honors 
as  of  years,  upon  this  distinguished  compliment  to  his  merit,  from  a  source 
second  to  none  for  eminence  in  the  whole  country.  These  honors  he  has 
received  are  honors  worth  ha\ing.  The  "Clio"  is  reputed  as  one  of  the 
most  celebrated  literary  societies  in  the  United  States,  and  has  a  roll  of 
eminent  names,  many  of  whom  are  of  world-wide  fame.  The  board  of  trus- 
tees of  Princeton  is  composed  of  a  large  body  of  eminent  scholars,  historians, 
jurists,  divines,  and  professors,  among  whom  are  Drs.  McCosh  and  Patton, 
and  gentlemen  of  the  first  wealth  and  standing  in  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia, and  other  cities  in  the  East.  Three  honors  in  three  weeks!  "Com- 
mander Loyal  Legion,"  "Member  of  the  Princeton  Clio,"  and  "Doctor  of 
Laws!"  Falmam  qui  meruit  ferat!  Let  him,  who  has  deserved  the  palm, 
take  it ! 

The  natural  outgrowth  of  such  testimonials  of  esteem  as 
these,  and  their  effect  and  influence  upon  the  hearts  of  all 
connected  with  the  university,  may  well  be  imagined.  The 
following  year,  after  passing  through  a  severe  illness,  the 
honored  president  of  the  board  of  regents  made  his  appear- 
ance, June  6,  1889,  at  the  university  commencement,  when 
once  more  he  became  the  subject  of  a  grand  ovation.  He  was 
introduced  to  the  crowded  assembly  by  President  Northrop 
in  a  handsome  speech  that  developed  the  electricity  into  a 
blaze  most  brilliant  and  exciting: 

".4<  the  mention  of  General  Sibley^ s  name,  the  entire  audience  rose,  and 
made  the  welkin  ring  with  cheers.  The  recipient  of  this  signal  honor  was  visibly 
affected,  andthe  hardy  patriarch,  whose  biography  is  the  history  of  Minnesota, 
found  himself  overcome  by  the  occasion.''^ ^ 


1  St.  Paul  Dispatch,  June  7, 1889. 


380  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

The  intelligence  of  this  ■well-merited  tribute  no  sooner 
reached  the  ears  of  the  Eight  Eeverend  E.  S.  Thomas,  S.T.D., 
Bishop  of  Kansas, — an  old  friend  of  General  Sibley, — than 
the  following  beautiful  appreciation  of  it  was  sent,  on  wings, 
to  General  Sibley's  home: 

Salina,  Kansas,  July  6,  1889. 
My  Deab  Geneeal  Sibley:  Last  evening,  my  son  George  informed  me 
of  the  handsome  tribute  which  President  Northrop  gave  you  on  commence- 
ment day  of  the  university.  It  made  my  heart  thrill  with  pride  and  joy. 
It  is  such  a  pleasure  to  know  that  a  true  man  and  a  noble  life  may  have 
their  due  meed  of  praise,  now,  and  their  worth  openly  recognized,  before 
the  shroud  of  death  calls  for  a  fitting  eulogy.  Mrs.  Thomas  sends  affec- 
tionate regards. 

Your  Very  Sincere  Friend, 
E.  T.  Thomas. 

To  crown  all,  the  following  editorial  appeared  in  the  Daily 
Globe  about  the  same  time,  and  testifies  to  a  sentiment  that, 
one  day,  perhaps  not  far  hence,  may  find  its  realization  in  the 
actual  consummation  for  which  it  pleads.  No  citizen  will  say 
that  it  does  not  deserve  a  ready  consideration: 

The  Globe  publishes  this  morning  an  article  descriptive  of  Mendota, 
where  the  earliest  white  settlement  in  Minnesota  was  made,  and  where  the 
first  house  was  built  by  General  Sibley.  The  structure  is  still  standing,  and 
its  builder  is  still  living.  The  town  of  Mendota,  the  venerable  stone  man- 
sion, and  the  name  of  Henry  H.  Sibley  are  all  inseparably  associated  with 
the  history  of  Minnesota.  It  is  therefore  with  all  the  more  freedom  that 
the  Globe  makes  the  following  suggestion: 

Who  General  Sibley  is  and  what  he  has  been  to  Minnesota  is  known  of 
everybody.  Panegyrics  on  an  illustrious  name  are  not  necessary  in  the 
presence  of  a  people  who  have  personal  knowledge  of  the  deeds  of  the  man. 
So  what  we  have  to  say  we  will  at,  directly,  without  the  form  of  further 
introduction.  The  Globe'' s  suggestion  is  that  the  piece  of  ground  known  as 
Pilot  Knob  be  at  once  secured,  and  that  ten  or  fifteen  acres,  or  as  much  of 
it  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  purposes,  be  devoted  to  the  use  of  a  public 
park,  in  tlie  midst  of  which,  and  curving  the  summit  of  the  Knob,  shall  be 
erected  a  monument  to  General  Sibley.  Tliat  General  Sibley  deserves  a 
monument  from  the  people  of  Minnesota,  goes  without  question.  That 
Pilot  Knob  is  the  most  appropriate  phice  for  a  monument  to  General  Sib- 
ley's memory  is  made  plain  in  the  Globe^s  Mendota  article.  It  should  stand 
on  the  eminence  directly  overlooking  the  little  pioneer  town  where  the  first 
white  man's  home  was  built  in  Minnesota  and  in  full  view  of  these  two 
great  cities. 

Following  close  on  tlie  heels  of  tlie  (llobc^a  suggestion  to  build  the  Sib- 
ley moiiuiiicnt  on  Pilot  Knob  comes  the  (juestion,  Who  will  iuaugvirate  the 
movein(!nt':'  There  are,  perhaps,  scores  of  our  public-spirited  citizens  who 
will  cheerfully  give  it  substantial  aid.     The  Globe  itself  would  only  be  too 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  381 

proud  to  be  a  leader  in  such  a  movement.  But  there  is  a  fitness  in  all 
things.  And  in  this  instance  it  is  appropriate  that  the  honor  of  the  initial 
movement  shall  belong  to  the  old  settlers.  The  surviving  pioneers  who 
shared  with  Sibley  the  privations  of  frontier  life,  and  v?ho  still  live  to  enjoy 
with  him  the  exceeding  glory  of  their  joint  achievements,  are  the  ones  to 
inaugurate  a  movement  to  do  honor  to  the  name  and  memory  of  their  old 
leader  and  to  Minnesota's  earliest  and  best  friend.  The  Globe  has  made  the 
suggestion.  Now  let  the  old  settlers  take  hold  of  it  and  put  it  into  prac- 
tical shape. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  another  among  the  honored 
pioneers  of  Minnesota,  more  worthy  of  such  a  mark  of  public 
esteem  than  the  Hon.  Henry  Hastings  Sibley,  whom  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Wisconsin,  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  and  the  State 
of  Minnesota  by  her  people,  her  judiciary,  her  legislature, 
her  university,  her  civil,  military,  commercial,  financial,  mu- 
nicipal, and  charitable,  institutions  have  already  adorned 
with  so  many  tokens  of  their  continuous  and  undiminished 
regard.  As  a  civilian,  the  first  in  so  many  important  re- 
spects, and  of  such  moment  in  the  infancy  of  Minnesota,  and 
as  a  soldier,  the  redeemer  of  so  many  of  her  captives  from  the 
grasp  of  a  brutal  foe,  he  shines  with  untarnished  honors,  and 
keeps  the  ensigns  of  his  worth,  neither  assumed  nor  laid  aside 
at  the  caprice  of  the  popular  breath. 

He,  all-indifterent  to  the  spurns 

Of  vulgar  souls  profane. 
The  honors  wears  he  proudly  earns. 

Unclouded  by  a  stain; 
Nor  takes,  nor  lays  the  fasces  down 
As  fickle  mobs  applaud  or  frown. 

Intaminatis  fulget  honoribus, 
Nee  sumit,  nee  ponit,  secures, 
Arbitrio  popularis  aurse. 

—  Horace,  Odes,  Lib.  Ill,  Ode  II. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

EESUME  OF  THE  CAREER  OF  H.  H.  SIBLEY.  —  SPECIAL  CONSIDERATION  OF 
THE  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  MR.  SIBLEY. — INTELLECTUALITY. — A  STATES- 
MAN, ORATOR,  DEBATER. —  MORAL  ATTRIBUTES. —  RELIGIOUS  ELE- 
MENT.—  LITERARY  MERIT.  —  CONTRIBUTOR. —  DESCRIPTIVE  POWER. — 
EPISTOLARY  POWER. —  LETTER  TO  COSTANTINE  BELTRAMI. —  POETICAL 
PROPENSITY    OF    GENERAL    SIBLEY. —  HIS  POEM    "THEN    AND    NOW." 

—  ELEGAIC  TRIBUTES. —TRIBUTE  TO  COLONEL  HERCULES  L.  DOUSMAN. 

—  TRIBUTE  TO  MAJOR  JOSEPH  R.  BROWN. —  PARTIAL  LIST  OF  GENERAL 
SIBLEY'S  WRITINGS.  —  HIS  LOVE  OF  THE  ROMANTIC  AND  BEAUTIFUL  IN 
NATURE. — WORDSWORTH'S  LINES. —  EXPRESSION  OF  HIS  SENTIMENT. — 
LOVE  OF  THE  COMICAL,  ILLUSTRATED. —  HIS  BENEVOLENCE  AND  BE- 
NEFICENCE.—  SYMPATHY  WITH  HIS  FELLOW  MAN. — WORTHY  OF  PRES- 
ENT PRAISE,  WHILE  LIVING. —  THE  HOME  OF  MR.  SIBLEY  AT  MENDOTA. 
— THE  HOME  OF  MR.  SIBLEY  AT  ST.  PAUL. —  HIS  SOCIAL  LIFE.  —  PLACES 
CALLED  BY  HIS  NAME. —  PRESENT  FAMILY,  AND  FAMILY  CONNEC- 
TIONS IN  ST.  PAUL. —  CLOSING  WORDS.  —  TRIBUTE  TO  HENRY  HASTINGS, 
BY  THE  WRITER. —  PERSONAL  ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 

In  the  foregoing  chapters,  we  have  spoken  of  the  ancestral 
lines  of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley,  both  English  and  American, 
giving  special  prominence  to  both.  We  have  traced  the  history 
in  outline,  backward  to  the  Norman  Conquest,  forward  to  the 
time  of  the  Winthrop  Fleet,  and  thence  to  the  period  when 
the  subject  of  this  narrative  was  a  babe,  a  year  old,  a  pris- 
oner in  British  hands.  We  have  seen  his  early  proclivities, 
and  followed  his  career  from  the  time  he  left  his  paternal 
roof  to  the  time  of  the  present  writing,  a  period  of  seventy- 
eight  years.  Freed  from  his  mother's  knee,  we  have  watched 
him  pursuing  his  juvenile,  and  next,  his  classic,  education 5 
then  turning  away  from  his  home,  in  his  seventeenth  year,  to 
seek  his  fortune;  a  clerk  and  justice  of  the  peace  at  the 
Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  at  Mackinac;  a  partner  next  in  the 
Great  American  Fur  Company;  a  pioneer  in  Minnesota;  chief 
inspector  of  the  trading  posts  of  the  fur  company  through- 
ont  the  whole  Xortliwest;  justice  of  the  peace,  again,  over  a 
r<*gion  hirge  as  the  Einpiie  of  France;  foreman  of  the  first 
grand  jury  west  of  the  Mississippi;  an  Indian  hunter  for  many 
years;  a  business  man;  a  delegate  to  Congress  from  the  resid- 
uary i)oiti(>ii  of  Wisconsin;  s<'('uiing  the  passage  of  the  bill 
organizing  Minnesota  Territory;  a  delegate  from  the  Territory 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  383 

of  Minnesota,  devoted  to  its  interests,  and  winning  for  himself 
the  praise  of  all;  presiding  officer  of  the  Democratic  branch 
of  the  state  convention,  met  to  form  the  state  constitution; 
first  governor  of  the  State  of  Minnesota,  defending  the  honor 
and  struggling  to  support  the  credit  of  the  state;  a  soldier 
next,  leading  the  forces  of  the  state  to  avenge  the  great  Sioux 
massacre  of  1862;  a  second  time  leading  a  second  expedition, 
in  1863,  and  returning  again  victorious  from  the  field;  the 
deliverer  of  Minnesota's  captives  from  the  grasp  of  a  savage 
foe;  organizer  of  a  commission  to  try  the  Indian  criminals;  a 
member,  not  only  of  the  territorial,  but  also  of  the  state,  leg- 
islature; appointed  by  various  presidents  of  the  United  States 
to  negotiate  treaties  with  the  Indian  tribes,  and  again  with 
others  to  supervise  the  entire  operations  of  the  Indian  de- 
partment. We  have  seen  him  also  locating  the  capitol  of  the 
state,  giving  to  Minnesota  river,  and  to  the  state,  their  names; 
assisting  to  form  the  first  Protestant  church  ever  formed  in 
the  region  before  it  became  a  territory;  building  the  first 
church  edifice  ever  built  west  of  the  Mississippi;  a  friend  of 
the  missionaries,  contributing  to  their  support;  battling  for 
pre-emption  rights  and  a  homestead  for  all;  pleading  for  the 
insane;  securing  large  appropriations  for  the  territory,  and  a 
double  share  for  the  purposes  of  school  education;  two  town- 
ships for  the  purpose  of  a  university;  a  colonel,  a  brigadier, 
a  major  general;  president  of  the  board  of  regents  of  the  State 
University,  doctor  of  laws,  and  a  citizen  crowned  with  numer- 
ous and  distinguished  honors,  civil,  political,  military,  and 
academic;  a  man  respected  and  beloved  by  the  people,  and 
living  to  almost  an  octogenarian  age,  witnessing  wonders  such 
•  as  no  other  man  has  seen,  in  the  development  of  the  Northwest. 
In  all  these  changing  and  diversified  relations,  he  has  passed 
before  us,  not  as  a  phantom  figure,  but  a  real  character,  ex- 
citing our  interest,  and  challenging  our  admiration,  at  every 
step  of  his  many-sided,  unique,  and  marvelous  career. 

It  remains,  in  a  closing  chapter,  to  devote  some  space, 
more  critically  than  the  previous  connected  narrative  would 
permit,  to  the  intellectual,  moral,  sesthetie,  and  religious  fea- 
tures of  General  Sibley,  his  character  as  a  man  and  a  states- 
man, a  public  orator  and  debater,  a  literary  author,  as  also  to 
note  his  benevolence  and  charities,  his  home,  to  number  his 
family  and  family  connections  in  the  city  of  St.  Paul,  and, 
with  some  closing  observations,  retire  from  our  labor. 


384  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

A  marked  characteristic  of  General  Sibley's  mind  is  its 
broad  inlellectuaUty,  a  mind  deep  yet  clear  as  the  crystal  in 
which  the  scenery  of  trees  and  sky,  and  the  objects  of  nature, 
are  reflected  with  the  utmost  distinctness  and  perfection.  If, 
as  Bufifon  remarks,  "the  style  is  the  man,"  this  must  go  un- 
disputed. If  not  merely  the  flow  of  his  pellucid  language,  but 
the  thoughts  covered  by  the  words  are  an  index  of  the  mental 
quality  behind  them,  General  Sibley's  style  of  expression,  and 
the  culture  it  betrays  besides,  will  rank  him  as  among  the 
best  thinkers  of  his  time.  On  whatever  theme  he  speaks  or 
has  spoken,  or  writes  or  has  written,  there  is  a  breadth  of 
comprehension  and  a  grasp  of  its  widest  and  deepest  rela- 
tions, with  a  clear  statement  of  his  subject,  such  as  evinces 
an  intellectual  power  scarcely  inferior  to  that  of  men  we  are 
accustomed  to  regard  as  among  the  first  and  ablest  of  our 
time.  The  transparency  of  the  vesture  with  which  his  ideas 
are  clothed  may  deceive  superficial  minds,  as  might  the  charm 
of  their  simj)licity,  and  the  ease  with  which  they  flow  in  lan- 
guage where  no  word  is  misplaced,  and  none  mistaken, —  a 
diction  select  and  appropriate, —  but  better  minds,  versed  in 
such  mysteries,  will  not  be  misled  in  their  judgment  of  the 
merits  both  of  the  thinker  and  the  thought,  by  the  clearness 
of  the  utterance.  To  read  his  speeches,  one  would  think  they 
had  been  elaborated  with  the  utmost  care,  and  delivered  only 
after  they  had  been  committed  to  a  faithful  memory.  And, 
were  it  not  that  the  same  facility  of  utterance,  and  force  of 
intellect,  and  faultlessuess  of  style,  emerge  everywhere  on  all 
occasions,  even  when  called  upon  to  speak  impromptu,  and  un- 
expectedly, it  might  be  difficult  to  evade  a  conclusion  which 
ten  minutes'  conversation  with  their  gifted  author  would  over- 
throw. This  much  is  due,  in  a  general  way,  to  his  intellectu- 
ality, which  if  not  as  quick  now,  nearly  at  the  close  of  four- 
score years,  is  yet  as  observable  as  when  in  its  prime. 

As  a  statefivian,  judged  by  his  congressional  career,  the 
development  of  his  mind  was  of  the  first  order.  He  pene- 
trated to  the  foundation  of  things,  examining  the  principles 
of  human  action,  studying  the  structure  of  society,  its  various 
forms  of  govrrnnient,  the  genius  of  institutions,  the  character 
of  constitutions  and  of  laws,  the  realtion  of  the  federal  to 
the  state  authority,  the  results  of  legislation,  the  histories  of 
states,  enipires,  and  republics,  the  rights  of  man,  and  the 
general  progress  of  the  world.     Endowed  with  a  meditative 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  385 

and  reflective  disposition,  and  sharing  his  father's  judicial 
aptitude,  his  opinions  as  to  the  character  of  his  times,  the 
tendencies  of  great  forces  then  in  action, —  not  alone  in  the 
United  States,  but  everywhere  in  the  civilized  world, —  be- 
came of  real  value  to  those  who  sought  his  counsel.  Gifted, 
moreover,  with  that  prophetic  foresight  which  is  grounded  in 
a  logical  deduction  from  the  knowledge  of  the  world's  past 
course,  and  a  keen  perception  of  impulses  wrapped  up  in 
its  present  motion,  he  framed  to  himself  a  "philosophy  of 
progress"  which  he  believed  the  experience  of  future  years 
would  verify,  in  the  rapid  evolution  of  the  American  people. 
It  was  that  character  of  mind  which  restrained  him  from 
siding  with  the  extreme  South  in  the  Civil  War,  and  also 
awoke  the  grand  conception  of  a  North  and  South  linked 
together  as  one,  in  coming  time,  commercially  as  well  as  agri- 
culturally, by  a  gigantic  railroad  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to 
the  British  line.  The  old  and  narrow  notions  of  natural 
enmity,  hereditary  feuds,  and  sectional  antagonisms,  with 
practically  independent  petty  sovereignties,  such  as  clannish 
Highlanders,  imperial  barous,  and  savage  Indians,  entertain, 
he  deemed  worthy  to  be  banished  from  the  temper  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  from  the  politics  of  the  times.  Eadical  for  the 
removal  of  every  inherent  wrong,  and  of  all  things  adverse 
to  man's  improvement, —  let  his  color  be  red,  black,  white,  or 
yellow, —  he  was  yet  a  wise  counselor,  cautious  and  safe, 
opposed  to  all  volcanic  action,  save  as  a  last  resort,  handling 
l^ractically,  as  a  statesman,  and  not  theoretically,  as  a  ro- 
mancer, the  great  questions  of  his  day,  and  regulating  his 
procedure  by  guides  and  considerations  of  a  wise  experience. 
The  tenor  of  his  life,  habitually  temperate,  made  him  all  the 
more  industrious  and  constant  in  the  distribution  of  his  time, 
and  enabled  him  to  be  a  thorough  master  of  all  the  details  of 
such  business  as  required  his  attention.  He  was  posted  in 
territorial  and  state  affairs  far  beyond  the  majority  of  the 
house,  when  he  entered  it,  although  well  informed  men  were 
there.  Punctual  to  his  engagements,  and  hourly  diligent,  he 
was  ever  ready,  whenever  a  crisis  demanded  his  special  inter- 
vention, to  make  his  appearance,  leaj)  into  "  the  imminent 
deadly  breach,"  and  even  lead  a  hojDc  almost  ''forlorn."  Pa- 
tient and  persevering,  he  was  determined,  on  all  occasions, 
to  deserve  success,  even  if  on  some  occasions  he  did  not  suc- 
ceed.    He  ever  stood  rooted  in  his  creed,  not  wavering  with 


386  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

circumstances,  nor  veering  with  the  wind.  Even  the  ne'cessity 
of  self-preservation,  the  first  law  of  nature,  could  not  warp 
his  judgment  to  affirm  a  proposition,  which  the  text  of  the  Con- 
stitution, and  the  plighted  faith  of  the  states,  demonstrated 
to  be  false.  In  the  issue  between  North  and  South,  while  he 
gave  the  legal  case  to  the  South,  so  far  as  the  rendition  of  the 
fugitive  was  concerned,  he  stood  by  the  North  on  the  ground 
of  the  integrity  of  the  Union,  and  drew  his  sword  in  defense 
of  his  state.  The  "neutrality"  to  which,  in  the  feeble  begin- 
ning, and  critical  time  of  the  birth  of  the  territory^  he  com- 
mitted himself,  was  no  evasion  of  principles  he  was  well 
understood  to  hold,  but  grounded  itself  in  the  non-existence 
of  political  organizations  among  his  constituents,  the  pledge 
of  non-partisan  representation,  and  the  highest  good  of  the 
people.  It  was  based  on  moral  not  less  than  political  reasons. 
The  same  courage  displayed  itself  here,  as  later  on,  at  the 
birth  of  the  state,  when  all  neutrality  was  thrown  aside,  and 
he  stood  foremost  as  the  leader  of  the  party  whose  funda- 
mental principles  he  has  ever  regarded  as  those  of  the  people 
and  country,  and  indestructible  so  long  as  popular  govern- 
ment lasts.  Whether  in  ascension,  or  in  retirement,  he  re- 
mained steadfast  to  the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  loyal  to 
the  government,  conservative  yet  tolerant,  discriminating  yet 
indulgent.  Like  all  men  of  any  real  greatness,  he  was,  while 
dignified,  yet  condescending  and  affable,  easy  of  approach, 
simple,  sociable,  genial,  enthusiastic,  and  cordial  in  all  his 
personal  relationships.  His  influence  with  men,  even  the 
leaders  of  diverse  parties,  was  great,  and  it  acquired  strength 
all  the  more,  under  the  peculiar  circumstances  in  which  he 
was  placed,  the  times  in  which  he  lived,  and  the  interests 
committed  to  his  hands,  when  it  was  discovered  that,  not 
merely  the  minor  obstacles  thrown  in  his  path  gave  him  no 
concern,  but  that,  rising  superior  to  the  party  passions  of  the 
hour,  and  the  base  undergrowth  of  selfish  ends,  he  could  be 
a  patriot  and  not  a  partisan,  refusing  to  sacrifice,  to  political 
entanglements,  the  interests  his  constituents  had  committed 
to  his  trust. 

As  a  pnhlic  spealcer,  he  deserves  a  place  among  the  first 
that  Minnesota  has  produced,  dilferent  indeed  from  all  the 
rest  by  the  wliole  difference  of  mental  and  moral  constitution 
that  obtains  l)etw<;en  one  man  and  another.  He  had,  more- 
over, studied  the  best  models  of  his  own  and  former  genera- 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  387 

tions.  He  had  read,  with  care,  the  orations  of  a  Chatham  and 
Pitt,  a  Burke  and  Sheridan,  a  Curran  and  Fox,  a  Grattan  and 
Emmet.  He  pored  over  the  productions  of  a  Webster  and 
Clay,  an  Everett  and  Choate,  a  Benton  and  Calhoun,  and  was 
familiar  not  only  with  Douglas  and  Foote,  but  with  the  first 
orators  in  both  the  senate  and  the  house  of  representatives.  He 
delighted,  besides,  to  study  the  pages  of  a  Rollin  and  Gibbon, 
a  Hallam  and  Alison,  storing  his  memory  with  the  records  of 
ancient  and  modern  history.  The  English  and  French  poets 
were  his  companions.  His  knowledge  was  not  confined  to  the 
ordinary  accomplishments  of  an  English  education,  but  ex- 
tended to  the  classic  authors,  the  source  of  his  exquisite  taste, 
and  perhaps  of  the  "o?'e  rotundo^^  character  of  his  expressions. 
In  all  these  great  models,  he  discovered  the  existence  of  a 
great  principle  which  was  constitutional  to  himself,  and  a 
chief  source  of  their  success,  viz. :  a  firmness  of  purpose  and 
resolution  in  the  pursuit  of  their  object.  Whatever  they 
willed  to  do  they  ^^  ivilled  it  ivith  a  wu7?,"  undismayed  by  any 
opposition,  how  formidable  soever  it  might  be.  We  see  this 
element  not  only  in  the  maiden  speech  of  Mr.  Sibley  before 
the  house  Committee  on  Elections,  but  eminently  so  in  his 
speeches  on  the  "pre-emption  and  homestead  bills,"  and 
still  more  strongly  in  the  struggle  whereby  five  roads  were 
saved  to  Minnesota.  Once,  and  again,  he  bore  the  brunt  of 
the  whole  combined  attack  upon  him,  and  held  his  position 
with  a  tenacity  which,  at  last,  was  crowned  with  victor}^ 

He  was,  admittedly,  one  of  the  most  effective  speakers  in 
the  house.  He  never  rose  to  discuss  a  great  question  of  con- 
stitutional government,  state  or  territorial  right,  public  econ- 
omy, the  rights  of  delegates,  the  interpretation  of  the  Consti- 
tution, internal  improvement,  or  national  policy  of  any  kind, 
that  he  did  not  command  the  attention  of  the  rei3resentatives, 
and  was  even  entreated  by  members  of  the  house  to  address 
that  body.  Tall,  stately,  well  formed,  and  of  commanding 
personal  appearance,  erect,  dignified,  urbane,  and  even  cour- 
teous, in  his  manners,  self-possessed  and  deliberate,  wearing 
the  look  of  conscious  power,  he  challenged,  and  received,  the 
respect  of  all.  He  conveyed  the  impression,  always,  that  he 
was  master  of  his  subject.  His  voice  blended  the  harmonies 
of  the  pathietic  and  the  strong,  the  tender  and  the  grave,  and, 
in  the  presentation  and  enforcement  of  his  cause,  he  touched 
not  less  the  sympathies  than  enlightened  the  understanding 


388  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

and  persuaded  the  mind  of  his  hearers.  Sometimes,  he  rose 
to  the  height  of  an  intense  and  burning  eloquence,  as  when 
pleading  for  the  pioneer,  and  the  red  man,  or  exposing  the 
perfidy  of  the  government  and  its  officials.  He  had  a  divine 
memory,  an  affluent  diction,  a  lucid  order,  a  consistent  method, 
a  fullness  of  historic  fact,  an  aj^titude  for  illustration,  a  power 
of  description,  a  simplicity  of  action,  and  naturalness  of  ges- 
ture, an  animation  chastened  by  good  taste,  a  flow  of  the 
deepest  feeling,  a  weight  in  his  words,  a  gravity  of  mien 
even  when  excited,  and  a  faculty  of  shedding  over  questions 
of  state  policy  and  government  the  high  light  imparted  by 
their  moral  associations.  His  speeches  show  that  he  felt  the 
speaker  was  not  the  only  person  actively  engaged  while  a 
speech  is  in  progress,  but  that  the  audience  are  in  action  as 
well,  and  that  not  merely  must  the  intellect  be  informed  but 
the  affections  moved,  and  the  will  determined  in  the  direction 
proposed.  A.  mere  didactic  orator  he  could  never  be.  A  passive 
audience  he  could  never  have.  Elevated,  commanding,  and 
composed,  he  yet  became,  when  the  time  required  it,  impas- 
sioned, and  overmastering.  His  severity  he  reserved  for  those 
public  occasions  when,  in  Congress,  legislature,  or  through  the 
public  press,  or  when  addressing  his  fellow  citizens,  whether 
from  the  state  or  national  cajiitol,  or  at  the  market  place,  vice 
was  to  be  made  dance  under  the  lash, — honor,  justice,  truth, 
and  fidelity  to  covenants  to  be  vindicated, —  the  name  of  the 
state  to  be  redeemed  from  infamy, —  corrupt  politicians  ex- 
posed,—  corporations  frustrated  in  their  schemes  of  plunder, — 
and  public  officials  held  to  just  accountability.  His  invective 
was  terrible,  his  denunciation  scathing.  His  sentences  were 
framed  to  hold  as  much  dynamite  as  possible,  and  his  force  was 
used  to  hurl  it  with  the  most  destructive  effect.  The  eye  that 
could  "stare  a  buff"alo  out  of  countenance"  glared.  At  such 
times  it  was  a  joy  to  him  to  see  his  shells  explode  just  where 
he  intended  them  to  go,  and  the  splinters  fly  just  where  they 
were  least  expected.  On  other  occasions,  when  speaking  in 
praise  of  the  good,  he  was  like  a  bow  on  the  cloud  or  the 
clear  shining  of  the  sun  after  rain. 

His  speeches  on  the  "Indian  question"  and  the  "home- 
stead bill"  are  models  of  pathetic  eloquence  in  many  pas- 
sages, and  of  scorching  indignation  in  others.  That  on  the 
"  HMluction  of  tlie  military  reservation  of  Fort  Snelling,"  re- 
claiming, from  a  military  to  a  civil  jurisdiction,  Minnesota's 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  389 

best  acres,  pleading  for  the  pioneer,  and  the  territory,  and 
that  on  the  "indigent  insane,"  crushing  a  scheme  to  allow  the 
states  to  select  for  themselves  Minnesota's  best  lands  for  their 
own  benefit,  are  specimens  of  intellectual  power,  and  wither- 
ing rebuke.  And  what  adds  enduring  value  to  these  efforts 
is  the  fact  that,  in  them  all,  the  orator  is  not  contented  with 
mere  material  interests,  nor  talks  in  the  terms  of  a  mere  cal- 
culator of  material  industries  and  advantages,  nor  as  a  specu- 
lating politician,  but  rises  to  the  height  of  asserting  the  de- 
mands of  natural  justice,  and  enforcing  the  principles  of 
eternal  right. 

As  a  debater,  General  Sibley  was  not  surpassed.  He  was 
matched  against  the  most  accomplished  men  in  the  house,  nor 
once  came  out  second  best  in  any  dialectical  encounter.  A 
half-hour's  analysis  of  his  gladiatorial  exercises,  as  seen  in 
the  congressional  records,  will  let  this,  also,  go  unquestioned. 
He  was  never  vanquished  by  attack,  and  his  reply  was  fre- 
quently more  powerful  than  his  first  presentation.  Mason, 
Boyden,  Stevens,  and  Eoot,  were  witnesses  of  that.  They 
experienced  also  the  power  of  General  Sibley  in  retort.  As 
to  his  mode  of  reasoning,  in  debate,  if,  from  the  structure  of 
his  mind  so  broad  and  comprehensive,  and  the  flow  of  his 
language,  Ciceronian  and  Johnsonian  in  its  periods,  it  was 
not  sharp,  short,  and  precise,  like  the  logic  of  Calhoun,  or  the 
terse  sentences  of  Douglas,  but  more  like  that  of  Burke  or 
Erskine,  it  was  none  the  less  effective.  It  prevented  too  rapid 
a  motion  in  the  mind  of  his  hearers,  too  exhaustive  an  atten- 
tion, and  made  the  comprehension  of  the  argument  all  the 
more  easy.  If  the  web  of  the  argument  was  extended,  its  tex- 
ture was  none  the  less  tough.  If  it  moved,  like  a  river  cut- 
ting its  channel  ever  deeper,  and  widening  its  banks  by  the 
gathering  forces  of  its  flowing  and  increasing  waters,  still  it 
never  wearied  the  ears  that  listened  to  its  roll,  nor  brought 
slumber  to  eyes  that  watched  its  motion.  Cogent  and  convinc- 
ing, with  one  aim  before  him,  he  pressed  onward,  by  a  fault- 
less dialectic,  to  achieve  his  victory.  No  empty  sentence 
escaped  his  lips.  He  never  strayed  from  the  thread  of  his 
argument.  His  facts  were  never  overstated.  His  points  were 
never  broken.  His  clinching  demonstrations  were  never  re- 
futed. In  the  hottest  of  the  contest  his  suavity  of  manner 
never  forsook  his  bravery  of  action.  If  voles  overbore  rea- 
son, and  he  lost,  in  the  first  encounter,  he  yet  returned  to  the 


390  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

charge,  undaunted  by  opposition,  and  undeterred  by  defeat. 
He  was  ready  to  meet,  single  handed,  any  antagonism  that 
offered  itself  to  his  attentions.  As  a  parliamentarian,  he  was 
skillful  to  wield  the  "previous  question,"  and,  as  an  honora- 
ble strategist,  he  knew  how  to  corner  the  house  and  bring  its 
leaders  to  his  feet! 

The  moral  attributes  that  shone,  conspicuously,  in  General 
Sibley's  whole  career,  have  been  matters  of  universal  com- 
ment, and  unqualified  commendation.  The  recurrence  of 
almost  daily  eulogies  in  reference  to  this  phenomenon  in 
the  life  of  a  public  man,  amid  the  temptations  of  our  age, 
when  recklessness  of  principle  is  seen  among  so  many  of  our 
public  men,  reminds  us,  strongly,  of  like  eulogies,  under  like 
circumstances,  by  the  Greeks  and  Eomans,  upon  men  whose 
virtues  escaped  the  seductions  around  them;  eulogies  of  vir- 
tue, even  in  the  very  bosom  of  Pagandom  before  Christianity 
was  born,  and  whereby  men  won  for  themselves  an  enduring 
name.  We  recall  the  character  of  the  elder  Cato,  the  story 
of  Regulus,  and  the  life  of  Socrates;  their  adherence  to  truth, 
honesty,  and  justice,  fidelity  to  covenants,  the  sanctity  of 
promises,  and  their  freedom  fi'om  corruption.  It  is  Sallust  who 
can  think  of  nothing  nobler  for  the  Roman  youth  than  to  imi- 
tate the  noble  deeds  of  their  fathers,  turning  away  from  the 
crimes  of  the  age,  nor  satisfied  so  long  as  the  virtues  of  the 
dead  were  more  than  those  of  the  living.  By  such  high  ex- 
ample, he  sought  to  recover  from  ruin  the  generation  almost 
hopelessly  destroyed  by  its  own  excesses,  its  political  venality, 
luxurious  vice,  and  sacrifice  of  all  things  for  the  sake  of  con- 
quest, pleasure,  and  power.  If  we  seek  to  catalogue  these 
virtues,  so  much  to  be  praised,  we  shall  find  them  no  other 
than  what  an  insj^ired  writer  has  summed  up  under  the  ru- 
brics of  '■'■icliatsoeoer  things  are  true,  honorable,  just,  pure,  lovely, 
and  of  good  report,^'' '^ — pagan  virtues  to  the  height  of  which, 
at  least,  all  Christian  m(m  should  aspire. 

That  General  Sibley's  record,  in  this  respect,  stands  un- 
impeachable, none  will  be  willing  to  deny.  He  looms  every- 
where, as  a  man  of  unbending  integrity,  displaying  in  his  life 
the  highest  moral  virtues.  His  veracity  and  honor,  his  love 
of  Justice  and  equity,  and  his  purity  of  motive,  pass  unchal- 
lenged. The  slave  of  no  mean  avarice  or  thirst  for  promo- 
tion, he  has  been  indifferent  to  emolument,  not  stooping  to 

1  Paurit  EpiBtle  to  tin;  IMiillippiang,  chapter  4,  verse  8. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  391 

practice  petty  intrigues,  or  defile  his  hands  with  the  jobbing 
of  sordid  politicians.  Forgetful  of  self,  scorning  duplicity, 
cunning,  and  craft  of  every  description,  he  has  remained  true 
to  himself,  and  to  all  who  have  confided  their  interests  to 
his  care.  He  has  sought  the  welfare  of  the  people  and  the 
glory  of  the  state.  In  all  his  official  and  public,  as  well  as\ 
private,  transactions,  he  has  abhorred  deceit.  Lying  is  his 
detestation;  schemers  and  tricksters  are  the  objects  of  his 
implacable  disgust.  The  conduct  of  men  to  whom  the  bound- 
ary between  truth  and  falsehood,  right  and  wrong,  is  so  nar- 
row as  almost  to  be  invisible,  and  with  whom  prosperous 
wickedness  is  virtue,  he  denounces  in  withering  terms.  The 
lawyer  seeking,  by  technical  tricks,  and  immoral  means,  to 
defend  a  crime;  the  judge  on  the  bench  controlled  by  per- 
sonal prejudice,  popular  sentiment,  or  the  main  chance  for 
election;  the  legislator  taking  a  bribe;  the  candidate  for  office 
purchasing  votes,  and  truckling  to  win  popular  favor;  cor- 
rupt officials  combining  to  cheat  responsibility;  the  forger, 
the  false  pretender,  the  fraudulent  man,  and  he  who  by  silence, 
not  less  than  by  words,  misleads  his  neighbor,  are,  alike  to 
him,  guilty  of  no  venial  transgressions.  He  has  sacrificed 
place  and  power  to  principle  and  conscience,  when,  by  a  con- 
trary course,  he  might  have  retained  both.  His  private  in- 
terests he  has  made  subservient  to  the  welfare  of  the  nation 
and  the  state,  even  at  the  expense  of  loss  to  himself.  When  it 
lay  in  his  hand  to  enhance  the  values  of  his  realty,  and  be- 
come a  millionaire; — when  by  a  stroke  of  his  pen  he  could 
have  made  his  coffers  overflow;  —  he  preferred  the  honor  that 
closed  against  him,  forever,  that  splendid  and  tempting  vis- 
ion. When  the  popular  i)rejudice  and  public  will  were  intent 
to  blast  the  reputation  of  the  state,  he  sprang  to  the  rescue, 
careless  alike  of  praise  or  blame.  When  bereavement  invaded 
his  home,  and  death  twice  draped  it  in  gloom,  and  sorrowing 
children  and  wife  sat  in  tears,  lamenting  a  loss  no  time  could 
repair,  he  still  remained  absent  from  home,  crushed  by  his 
grief;  —  a  faithful  soldier  standing  between  the  life  of  the 
state  and  the  savage  foe  that  assailed  it.  When,  in  spite  of 
his  splendid  services,  he  was  set  aside  by  the  party  discipline 
of  a  new  administration,  and  the  "state  machine"  rolled  like 
a  Juggernaut  over  all  who  oi^posed  its  progress,  he  repelled 
the  creed  of  politicians  that  "no  man  can  serve  his  country 
with  effect  out  of  office,"  and  with  the  same  high  sense  of  the 


392  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

duties  of  life,  devoted  his  time  and  his  labor  to  the  good  of 
the  nation  and  state.  He  valued  no  position,  and  no  suc- 
cess, only  so  far  as  it  helped  him  win  some  triumph  in  the 
cause  of  humanity,  justice,  and  truth.  He  was  ever  the  ad- 
vocate of  progress  and  reform,  the  friend  of  education  and  of 
virtue,  and  his  heartfelt  sincerity  in  all  that  he  did,  or  at- 
tempted to  do,  was  his  shield  against  the  suspicion  of  tor- 
tuous methods,  indirect  aims,  and  selfish  ends. 

The  strength  of  the  popular  confidence  in  General  Sibley's 
integrity  may  be  learned  from  this,  that  vast  personal  inter- 
ests have  been  intrusted  to  his  management,  the  only  secur- 
ity being  his  simple  promise,  infallible  as  bonds  indorsed  by 
princes,  or  mortgages  on  values  equal  to  the  world.  No  blot 
of  dishonor  stains  his  escutcheon,  nor  taint  of  corruption  has 
tarnished  his  name.  In  the  words  of  another,  long  intimate 
with  his  career,  "his  record  is  as  stainless  as  the  snow." 

Such  high  moralities,  in  a  public  man,  deserve  special 
commendation,  shining,  as  they  do,  all  the  more  brilliantly, 
in  an  age  proverbial  for  contrary  developments,  and  when, 
too  frequently,  business  and  political  transactions  have  ac- 
quired for  themselves  a  character  of  thievery,  oppression, 
sharp  practice,  robbery,  and  fraud.  "A  good  name  is  better 
than  ointment,"  and  he,  who  transmits  such  a  boon  as  this 
to  his  children  and  his  country,  has  not  lived  in  vain,  but 
merits  the  esteem  of  the  state  and  the  praise  of  mankind. 
The  ancient  educators  all  directed  the  eyes  of  the  youth  of 
the  state  to  the  men  who  excelled  in  virtue.  Nor  will  it  in- 
jure Minnesotians  to  study  the  moral  element  which  has 
given  such  permanence  and  value  to  the  example  of  the 
Hon.  Henry  Hastings  Sibley.  '■^Morihus  inculpatusP^  One  of 
the  first  institutions  of  the  East  has  given  diplomatic  attesta- 
tion to  this  high  excellence  in  the  character  of  him  whose 
name  it  has  honored. 

As  to  the  religions  element  in  General  Sibley's  character, 
we  have  spoken  elsewhere.  His  creed,  the  formal  profession 
of  his  faith,  his  ecclesiastical  relations  shaped  by  the  neces- 
sities of  his  pioneer  life,  his  formation,  with  nineteen  others, 
of  the  first  Protestant  church  in  the  region  afterward  known 
'AH  Minnesota  Territory,  his  erection  of  a  church  building  at 
his  own  expense,  his  unabatiid  assistance  to  other  churches, 
his  support  of  tlie  early  missionaries  of  the  territory,  and  his 
final  identification  of  himself  with  the  Episcopal  Church  in 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  393 

St.  Paul,  the  denomiuation  to  which  his  parents  belonged, 
and  in  which  his  youth  was  nurtured.  We  have  seen  his 
observance  of  the  Sabbath,  both  during  his  Indian  life,  and 
throughout  his  military  campaigns,  the  deep  communings  of 
his  heart  with  God  when  under  the  strokes  of  successive  and 
crushing  bereavements,  and  the  acknowledgments  in  his  mili- 
tary messages,  as  everywhere  else,  and,  touchingly,  in  his  pri- 
vate letters  to  his  wife,  of  the  special  providence  of  God. 

As  a  layman,  he  is  wonderfully  versed  in  the  Scriptures, 
and  can  readily  complete  almost  any  passage  anyone  in  con- 
versation will  commence.  In  scores,  it  may  be  said  hundreds, 
of  conversations  with  the  writer  of  these  lines,  the  writer  has 
many  times  been  indebted  to  the  better  memory  of  General 
Sibley  for  more  accurate  quotation  of  the  Scriptures  than 
himself  had  given,  and  many  times,  after  reading  a  chapter 
in  the  New  Testament,  or  a  psalm  in  the  Old,  or  some  portion 
of  the  Historical  Books,  wonder  has  been  excited  at  the  depth 
and  breadth  of  his  discernment  in  the  teachings  of  the  Sacred 
Oracles.  A  constant  reader  of  his  Bible,  and  not  neglectful 
of  his  devotions,  he  still  continues  his  study  of  the  Word  of 
God,  not  as  a  literary  occupation,  or  diversion,  but  with  a 
practical  and  personal  intent.  If  advancing  years,  and  the 
week's  weariness,  abate  his  church  attendance,  it  is  not  to 
engage  in  secular  pursuits  upon  the  Sabbath,  but  to  win  the 
rest  his  failing  strength  demands,  and  improve  the  hours,  at 
home,  in  profitable  meditation,  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  his 
family  around  him.  Conspicuity  in  church  affairs  he  has 
never  sought.  For  years  his  activities  as  a  vestryman  in  St. 
Paul's  have  been  chiefly  nominal,  while  yet  supporting  with 
his  means,  and  taking  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  church, 
contributing  to  its  charities,  and  needs,  as  generously  as  in  his 
earlier  years.  A  firm  believer  in  the  doctrines  of  Christian- 
ity, he  is  no  less  a  firm  believer  in  the  fruit  such  doctrines 
should  bear,  and  regards  the  outward  profession  of  faith  in 
the  same  as  of  infinitely  less  moment  than  a  life  conformable 
to  the  precepts  of  Christianity  by  which  those  doctrines  are 
enforced.  His  abhorrence  is  the  spectacle  of  men  high  in  an 
outward  profession  of  religion,  and  conspicuous  in  church  re- 
lations, deporting  themselves  in  secular  and  business  affairs 
as  if  Christianity  were  only  a  name,  devoid  of  power  to  in- 
duce a  life  of  justice,  honesty,  and  truth,  equal  to  that  of  men 
who  make  no  profession,  or  to  that  of  a  respectable  religious 


394  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

pagan.  The  practical  side  of  Christianity,  the  example  of 
him  who  went  about  doing  good,  outweighs  with  him  all 
other  considerations. 

The  natural  shrinking  and  modesty  which  have  character- 
ized his  whole  life,  and  only  have  been  overcome  when  pub- 
lic affairs,  and  a  crisis,  demanded  that  these  should  be  sacri- 
ficed to  the  public  good,  makes  him  reserved  in  his  expression 
of  his  religious  feeling  and  his  thoughts,  to  any  save  a  few 
who  enjoy  his  most  sacred  confidence,  and  to  whom,  at  times, 
he  reveals  his  silent  experience.  Ostentation  and  parade  of 
what  he  deems  the  most  sacred  of  all  relations  between  man 
and  his  Maker,  he  repels,  while  yet  to  no  subject  does  he  lend 
a  more  deep  and  interested  attention,  and  in  none  displays  a 
more  serious  interest  than  in  what  pertains  to  a  life  after  the 
present  short  time  has  run  its  course.  With  becoming  solic- 
itude he  recalls  the  companions  of  his  early  days,  many  of 
whom  are  now  gone,  and  the  remainder  of  whom  must  soon 
go,  and,  with  himself,  enter  on  scenes  untried  and  of  moment- 
ous import. 

For  the  severer  and  sterner  forms  of  orthodox  doctrine  he 
entertains  a  qualified  regard,  while  yet  free  to  confess  that 
these  truths  so  long  the  heirloom  of  the  largest  portion  of  the 
evangelical  church  are  to  be  judged  of  as  little  by  their  cari- 
cature in  the  hands  of  their  enemies,  as  by  the  exaggerated 
expressions  of  their  friends.  For  forms  of  government  he  has 
but  little  preference.  His  creed  allows  him  to  fellowship  in 
spirit  all  true  Christians  to  whatever  denomination  belonging. 
The  Catholic,  the  Jew,  the  Presbyterian,  and  Episcopalian,  the 
Methodist  and  Baptist,  the  Lutheran  and  the  Congregational- 
ist,  he  treats  with  a  Christian  and  benevolent  regard,  while 
emphasizing  the  couplet  of  the  poet: 

"For  modes  of  faith  let  graceless  zealots  fight, 
His  can't  be  wrong,  whose  life  is  in  the  right." 
He  finds  pleasure  and  profit  in  reading  the  addresses  of 
a  godly  Catholic  archbishop,  or  an  Episcopalian  rector  or 
bishop,  and  takes  the  liveliest  interest  in  the  productioos  of 
a  Talmage  and  a  Spurgeon.  He  is  neither  an  optimist  nor 
a  pessimist  in  his  view  of  the  future.  While  believing  in 
the  ultiiriate  triumph  of  Christianity,  he  is  satisfied,  not  only 
from  the  Scriptures,  but  from  the  lessons  of  past  history,  and 
the  tendency  of  present  times,  that  this  victory  can  only  be 
achieved  after  a  fearful  and  impending  struggle  in  which  all 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  395 

the  forces  of  a  living  Christianity,  found  in  all  denominations,, 
will  be  called  into  requisition  to  face,  and  perhaps  with  ad- 
verse fortune  for  a  time,  the  whole  combined  force  of  anti- 
Christianity  in  one  final  conflict.  The  restlessness  and  law- 
lessness, seen  everywhere  in  Christendom,  the  corruption  in 
the  bosom  of  the  Church  itself,  the  increasing  unbelief  of 
Christendom  notwithstanding  the  amount  of  good  in  it,  and 
the  extension  of  missions,  and  the  horoscope  of  the  political 
constellation,  and  the  relation  of  the  Euroi^ean  powers  to  the 
progress  of  civilization,  and  the  complications  of  church  and 
state,  and  struggle  for  power  in  the  East,  all  seem,  to  his 
experience,  after  sixty  years  of  observation,  to  forbode  this 
result.  As  to  the  final  outcome,  in  history,  for  the  race  of 
men  in  their  conflict  with  evil,  while  fully  accepting  the  state- 
ments of  divine  revelation,  he  yet  believes  that,  somehow, 
the  dark  mystery  of  evil  will  yet  be  cleared  up  to  the  com- 
plete satisfaction  of  the  whole  intelligent  universe,  and  the 
ways  of  God  be  vindicated  to  the  world.  Verging  to  the  nar- 
row house  and  long  sleep  appointed  for  all  living,  he  deems 
life,  without  a  firm  hope  in  the  mercy  of  God,  to  be  but 
"A  painful  passage  o'er  a  restless  flood, 
A  vain  pursuit  of  fugitive  false  good." 

Unnumbered  times,  we  have  heard  the  words  upon  his 
tongue,  ''''Fear  God  and  keej)  his  commandments,  for  this  is  the 
whole  duty  of  man ! ' ' 

The  literary  merit  of  General  Sibley's  productions  must  not 
be  passed  by  in  silence.  He  was,  as  already  intimated,  a  pro- 
lific writer  for  many  of  the  papers  and  magazines  of  the  East,  as 
more  recently  for  some  in  the  West.  By  the  literary  as  well  as 
historical  value  of  his  productions,  he  contributed  greatly  to 
awaken  the  interest  of  the  whole  country  in  a  region  to  which 
the  people  of  the  United  States  were  comparatively  stran- 
gers. Under  his  proper  name,  as  also  under  the  noms  de  plume 
of  "Hal  a  Dakotah,"  "  Walker-in-the-Pines,"  and  other  titles, 
in  Porter^ s  Spirit  of  the  Times,  Forest  and  Stream,  Bod  and  Gun, 
The  Turf,  the  Field  and  the  Farm,  the  Wildwoods,  the  Western 
Magazine,  and  the  valuable  "Minnesota  State  Historical  Soci- 
ety Collections,"  besides  his  various  essays  and  lectures  before 
different  institutions  and  organizations,  he  has  furnished,  in 
his  measure,  a  literature  of  great  importance,  in  many  re- 
spects, to  the  history  of  the  Territory  and  State  of  Minnesota, 
as  well  as  to  that  of  the  Northwest.    In  the  classic  English  work 


396  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

of  ''Hawker  on  Shooting,"  the  two  chapters,  contributed  by 
Mr.  Sibley,  stand  inferior  to  nothing  written  by  any  of  the 
accomplished  pens  brought  to  enrich  the  contents  of  that 
fascinating  volume.  His  celebrated  letter  to  Senator  Foote, 
at  the  commencement  of  his  congressional  career,  and  pub- 
lished in  the  Southern  and  Eastern  papers,  unveiling  the  gran- 
deur and  resources  of  Minnesota,  deemed,  at  that  time,  fit 
only  to  be  the  abode  of  savages  and  lumbermen,  attracted 
universal  attention,  and  assisted  vastly  to  promote  immi- 
gration to  the  Northwest.  As  "  Walker-in-the-Pines,"  he 
contributed  to  the  St.  Paul  Pioneer,  in  a  series  of  extended 
chapters,  the  story  of  "Jack  Frazer,"  a  half-breed,  and  noble 
character,  thirty  five  of  whose  years  had  been  spent  with  the 
Red  "Wing  band  of  Dakotas.  It  is  a  valuable  production, 
embodying  authoritative  statements,  and  a  clear  account  of 
the  manners,  religious  opinions,  ceremonies,  and  other  usages 
and  customs,  of  the  Dakotas,  as  taken  from  the  lips  of  "Jack" 
himself,  and  as  connected  with  a  condition  of  aboriginal  life 
such  as  existed  two  generations  ago,  in  the  region  of  country 
now  known  as  Minnesota.  The  supplementary  chapter,  by 
General  Sibley,  upon  "The  Religion  of  the  Dakotas"  is  a 
critique  not  only  of  "Jack's"  information,  but  also  of  the 
labors  of  others  in  reference  to  the  same  subject,  and,  though 
brief,  is  of  great  value  to  the  ethnologist  and  antiquarian. 
In  all  these  productions.  General  Sibley  shows  himself  to  be  a 
master  of  the  pen,  gifted  with  a  power  of  arrangement,  ex- 
pression, and  description,  not  surpassed  by  anything  in  Field- 
ing and  Smollet,  Alison  or  Prescott,  Goldsmith  or  Scott.  If 
the  test  of  perfection  in  composition  is  the  impossibility  of 
reconstructing  the  sentence,  or  clause,  in  a  better  form,  or  in 
language  more  apt,  graceful,  and  chaste, — if,  by  any  effort  to 
give  it  a  new  shape,  the  work  is  marred,  and  the  charm  lost, 
—  the  ai>plication  of  this  rule  to  the  productions  of  General 
Sibley  will  rank  him,  not  only  as  one  of  the  best  writers  in 
the  State  of  Minnesota,  but  anywhere  else.  The  styles  of  men 
are,  indeed,  diverse,  because  the  men  themselves  are  so,  just 
as  the  stars  and  the  flowers  are  different,  and  the  tones  of 
musical  instruments  various.  The  Vicar  of  Wakefield  does 
not  read  like  Ivanhoe,  nor  the  Divina  Commedia  like  Childe 
Harold.  The  stately  majesty  of  Gibbon  is  not  the  racy  bril- 
liance of  Macaulay,  and  Shakespeare's  Othello  and  Milton's 
Comus  were  not  born  of  the  same  mother.     Yet  all  are  models 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  397 

of  literary  excellence.  In  like  manner,  the  pen  of  "Hal  a 
Dakotah,"  "  Walker-in-the-Pines,"  or  "Sibley,"  is  not  that 
of  another,  but  is  all  his  own,  and  such  as  only  himself  can 
wield. 

As  a  specimen  of  descriptive  power  in  simple  narration,  and 
chasteness  of  style,  what  can  be  more  perfect  than  this,  writ- 
ten more  than  twenty  years  ago,  when,  having  vented  his 
wrath  against  those  whose  wanton  slaughter  of  birds  and  ani- 
mals, not  in  the  season  for  game,  was  inspired  alone  by  the 
"love  of  killing  for  the  sake  of  killing,"  he  turns  to  jDicture 
the  magical  change  a  few  years  were  sufficient  to  bring  to  a 
region  infested  by  savage  hordes,  and  whose  mountains  and 
plains  were  a  common  hunting  ground  for  the  trader  and  In- 
dian: 

"The  onward  march  of  civilization,  and  heavy  and  ceaseless  tramp  of 
thousands,  and  tens  of  thousands,  of  white  men  seeking  their  homes  in  the 
far  West,  results  in  forcing  the  larger  animals,  such  as  the  buffalo,  elk,  and 
deer,  farther  and  farther  away  toward  the  Stony  Mountains,  there  to  be  met 
and  exterminated  by  the  pale  faces  from  the  Pacific.  In  our  happy  and 
beautiful  territory,  where  we  have  no  Bloody  Kansas  scenes  to  deplore,  the 
buffalo,  elk,  and  deer,  indeed,  yet  roam,  but  they  are  daily  retiring  before 
the  avalanche  of  white  settlers  who  are  precipitating  themselves  upon  us. 
It  is  probable  that  most  of  your  readers  have  had  but  a  faint  perception  of 
the  process  by  which  the  mighty  Northwest  is  transformed  from  a  wilder- 
ness into  a  populous  state,  in  an  incredibly  short  space  of  time.  Let  them 
picture  to  themselves  a  magnificent  prairie,  studded  with  fine  lakes  and 
interspersed  with  luxuriant  groves  of  oak  and  other  timber,  with  a  camp  in 
the  distance,  composed  of  conical  lodges  of  skin,  and  a  troop  of  daring  Da- 
kota horsemen,  accompanied  by  a  single  white  mau  (your  friend  Hal),  urg- 
ing the  chase  of  a  herd  of  buflalo.  Let  them  regard  that  as  a  true  scene  of 
1850,  or  even  later,  then  bid  them  recall  the  same  landscape  in  1856,  and 
from  the  picture  will  have  vanished  Indian  men,  women,  and  children,  buf- 
falo, dogs,  and  lodges,  leaving  the  solitary  white  man  to  gaze  with  amaze- 
ment, not  untinged  with  melancholy,  upon  thriving  villages,  countless 
farms,  teeming  with  laborers  engaged  in  securing  the  abundant  harvest,  and 
all  the  other  evidences  of  happiness  and  comfort  which  characterize  the  set- 
tlements of  young  America.  Let  them  conceive  the  whole  vast  area  of 
160,000  square  miles,  a  very  small  pait  of  which  they  have  looked  upon,  as 
containing  6,000  whites,  all  told,  in  1850,  and  of  that  same  area  six  years 
later  with  a  population  of  200,000,  of  the  prime  men,  women,  and  children 
of  the  whole  land,  and  they  will  be  able  to  realize,  to  some  extent,  how 
Minnesota  has  been  changed,  ;xs  by  the  wand  of  a  magician,  and  how  it  is 
that  the  infant  communities  of  the  '  Great  West '  spring  into  full  strength 
and  manhood  almost  as  instantaneously  as  armed  Minerva  from  the  head  of 
Jove. 


398  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

"To  an  old  hunter  like  myself,  accustomed  to  the  solitude  of  forest  and 
prairie,  these  changes  are,  as  I  have  before  hinted,  not  unattended  with  the 
lingering  regret  which  we  feel  when  some  fair  but  wild  vision  disappears 
suddenly  from  our  enraptured  view.  The  Indians  with  whom  I  lived  and 
hunted  for  so  many  years — where  are  they?  The  powerful  and  haughty 
tribe  of  Dakotas,  who  possessed  the  fair  land,  and  boasted  that  they  were, 
and  would  ever  remain,  its  only  masters — what  is  their  fate?  Turn  to  the 
history  of  the  Six  Nations,  and  of  other  bauds,  whose  graves  are  number- 
less on  both  sides  of  the  Alleghanies,  and  you  will  need  but  little  aid  from 
the  imagination  to  enable  you  to  reply  correctly  to  such  interrogatories. 
Broken  treaties  and  unperformed  promises  on  the  part  of  the  government, 
and  the  presence  of  a  power  which  the  Indians  feel  their  inability  to  resist, 
these  are  but  a  repetition  of  the  old  story,  and  the  humbled  and  degraded 
Dakotas  can  look  for  no  redress  of  their  grievances,  this  side  of  the  'Spirit 
Land.'  Their  country  has  iiassed  into  the  possession  of  a  race  who  can 
appreciate  its  beauties  and  develop  its  riches,  and  my  only  regret  is  that 
the  government  and  its  agents  have  failed  to  use  the  opportunities  presented 
to  them,  to  place  the  poor  Indians  in  a  position  to  be  treated  kindly  and 
fairly,  and  to  be  protected  in  the  possession  of  the  rights  secured  to  them  by 
solemn  treaty. 

"But  I  will  no  longer  pursue  a  strain  so  lugubrious.  Let  us  leave  the 
settlement  of  these  questions  in  the  hand  of  the  Great  Father  of  all."  ^ 

Another  and  still  more  recent  specimen  of  this  kind  of 
writing  is  the  following  sketch  of  the  early  times,  not  less 
valuable  for  its  information  and  its  picture  of  what  Minnesota 
was  in  her  pristine  condition,  than  as  a  model  of  elegant  and 
chaste  composition: 

"Our  state  has  sprung  into  existence  so  recently  that  some  of  us  yet  liv- 
ing have  participated  in  or  witnessed  each  step  of  her  progress  from  pre-ter- 
ritorial  times,  when  a  few  hundreds  of  men  employed  in  the  fur  trade  were 
all  the  whites  to  be  found  in  the  country,  to  the  present  period,  when  Min- 
nesota possesses  a  population  nearly  equal  to  one-sixth  of  that  composing 
the  entire  American  confederation  when  it  was  finally  emancipated  from 
foreign  control.  Less  than  a  generation  since,  wh£\t  is  now  called  Minnesota, 
together  with  a  large  part  of  co-terminus  territory,  was  of  importance  only 
as  a  region  producing  in  abundance  wild  animals  valuable  for  their  furs  and 
skins.  The  bear,  the  deer,  the  fisher,  the  marten,  and  the  raccoon,  were  the 
tenants  of  the  woods;  the  lieaver,  the  otter,  and  other  amphibia,  such  as  the 
mink  and  the  musUrat,  were  to  be  found  in  the  streams  and  lakes,  while  the 
prairies  were  dotted  with  countless  herds  of  the  bison  and  the  elk,  accom- 
panied by  their  usual  attendants,  wolves  and  foxes,  which  scarcely  deigned 
to  seek  concealment  from  the  eye  of  the  traveler.  The  numerous  lakes  and 
marslies  were  the  breeding  i)laccs  of  myriads  of  wild  fowl,  including  swan, 
gec>io,  and  ducks.  Many  of  the  younger  men  who  sought  employment  with 
the  fur  comi)anies  were,  like  myself,  more  attracted  to  this  wild  region  by  a 
love  of  adventure  and  of  the  chase,  than  by  any  prospect  of  pecuniary  gain. 

1  The  Fore.ft  ami  .Stream. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  399 

There  was  always  enough  of  danger,  also,  to  give  zest  to  extreme  frontier  life, 
and  to  counteract  any  tendency  to  ennui.  There  were  the  perils  of  prairie 
fires  and  of  flood,  from  evil-disposed  savages,  and  those  inseparable  from  the 
hunt  of  ferocious  wild  beasts,  such  as  the  bear,  the  panther,  and  the  buftalo. 
War  was  the  normal  condition  of  the  powerful  bands  of  Dakotas  and  Chip- 
pewas,  and  the  white  man,  falling  in  with  a  war  party  of  these  belligerent 
tribes,  might  deem  himself  fortunate  if  he  could  save  his  life  by  a  sacrifice  of 
whatever  property  he  possessed.  The  traveler  and  the  hunter  in  their  pere- 
grinations were  compelled  to  trust  to  their  skill  in  constructing  rafts  or  in 
swimming,  for  crossing  the  numerous  streams,  and  to  the  compass,  or  to  the 
sun  and  stars,  to  direct  their  course.  Nature  in  her  primitive  luxuriance, 
unmarred  by  the  labor  of  man,  unveiled  her  beauties  on  every  side,  as  a 
reward  to  those  of  her  infrequent  visitors  who  could  appreciate  and  enjoy 
them."i 

As  an  example  of  epistolary  correspondence,  his  letter,  in 
the  name  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society,  addressed  to 
the  honorable  the  council  of  the  city  of  Bergamo,  Italy,  in 
response  to  a  communication  from  the  same,  accompanied  by 
the  presentation  to  the  Historical  Society  of  the  writings  of 
Beltrami,  has  been  everywhere  referred  to  as  a  model  of  dig- 
nified, chaste,  and  elegant  acknowledgment.  The  full  text  of 
the  composition  is  the  following: 

Rooms  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society, 
St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  March  6,  1867. 
To  the  Honorable  G.  B.  Camozzi  Vertova,  3Iayor,  and  the  Honorable  Aldermen 

of  the  City  of  Bergamo,  Italy, 

Gentlemen:  By  direction  of  the  executive  council  of  the  Minnesota 
Historical  Society,  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge,  on  their  behalf,  the 
receipt  from  the  city  of  Bergamo,  so  worthily  represented  by  you,  of  a  hand- 
somely bound  volume  entitled  ^^Costantine  Beltrami  da  Bergamo  —  Notizie  e 
lettere  pubblicate  per  cura  del  municipio  di  Bergamo  e  dedicate  alia  societa  storica 
di  Minnesota,"  prefaced  by  an  eloquent  and  pathetic  letter  addressed  by  you 
as  representatives  of  the  native  city  of  Beltrami,  to  this  society,  bearing 
date  the  first  of  January,  1865,  and  containing  the  following  productions, 
to-wit: 

First  —  The  articles  of  Gabrielle  Rosa,  collected  under  the  title  of 
"Travels  and  Discoveries  of  Costantine  Beltrami." 

Second — "Dissertation  on  the  Travels  and  Writings  of  Costantine  Bel- 
trami," by  Count  Pietro  Moroni. 

Third  —  Letters  of  Chateaubriand,  La  Fayette,  Lafitte,  Julien,  Rossig- 
nac,  Davis,  Robertson,  and  Camonge,  to  Costantine  Beltrami. 

Fourth — Letter  from  Costantine  Beltrami  to  Mons.  Monglave,  perpet- 
ual secretary  of  the  Historical  Institute  of  France. 

In  addition  to  this  were  twenty-five  extra  copies  of  the  same  work,  and 
a  large  and  elegant  copy  of  Professor  Scuri's  painting  of  Beltrami. 

1  Coll.  Minn.  Hist.  Soc,  Vol.  Ill,  Part  2,  pp.  194  and  195. 


400  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

For  all  these  kind  offerings,  the  executive  council  have  requested  me, 
on  the  part  of  the  society,  to  tender  to  you  individually  and  collectively 
the  expression  of  their  earnest  gratitude  and  thanks,  and  they  respectfully 
desire  you  to  convey  to  your  fellow  citizens  of  Bergamo,  their  keen  appre- 
ciation of  the  cordial  and  friendly  feeling  manifested  by  them,  as  set  forth 
in  the  communication  vrhich  bears  your  ovrn  signatures.  The  society  fully 
reciprocates  the  vrish  expressed  in  the  concluding  portion  of  that  document, 
that  the  courtesies  extended  may  "add  a  new  and  strong  link  to  bind  to- 
gether the  great  and  free  people  of  the  American  Union  and  the  Italian 
people." 

The  object  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society,  as  you  have  been  here- 
tofore apprised,  is  the  collection  of  all  the  materials  within  its  reach,  relat- 
ing to  the  lives  and  adventures  of  those  early  explorers  whose  names  are 
indissolubly  linked  with  the  region  now  embraced  within  the  limits  of  this 
vast  state,  and  to  incorporate  in  its  annals  whatever  may  tend  to  throw 
light  upon  the  prehistoric  period  of  Minnesota;  the  habits  and  customs  of 
the  aboriginal  occupants  of  the  country,  and,  in  short,  everything  which  may 
be  considered  essential  to  the  elucidation  of  facts,  for  the  guidance  of  the 
future  historian. 

Into  this  great  reservoir  you  have  cast  your  contributions,  which  are  not 
only  valuable  for  their  originality,  and  the  artistic  beauty  with  which  they 
have  been  reproduced,  bflt  especially  for  the  aid  rendered  by  them  to  this 
society,  in  rescuing  from  undeserved  obscurity  and  forgetfulness,  the  name 
of  the  daring  and  generous  Italian,  Costantine  Beltrami. 

Were  it  permitted  to  your  illustrious  countryman  to  burst  the  ligaments 
of  the  grave,  and  to  revisit  in  life  the  scenes  of  his  former  wanderings  in 
this  far-off  land,  he  would  be  the  amazed  and  delighted  spectator  of  the 
marvelous  transformation  which  has  been  wrought  in  less  than  half  a  cen- 
tury. His  eye  would  rest  upon  cities,  towns,  and  villages  situated  on  the 
very  spots  where  he  had  accepted  the  hospitality  of  the  savages  in  their  rude 
wigwams;  and  the  evidences  of  a  young  and  vigorous  civilization  would 
meet  his  astonished  vision  on  the  broad  prairie,  which  he  had  known  only 
as  the  resort  of  countless  herds  of  the  bison  and  of  the  elk.  The  wilder- 
ness traversed  by  him  in  1823,  in  which  the  face  of  a  white  man  was  seldom 
seen,  now  contains  a  population  of  350,000  Americans,  active,  industrious, 
and  enterprising. 

Such,  honorable  sirs,  are  the  wonderful  changes  which  a  few  short  years 
have  made  in  this  Northwestern  state.  Is  it  strange  that  we  who  live  to 
profit  by  the  toils  and  exposures  of  the  noble  men  who  first  explored  and 
brought  into  notice,  this  terra  incognita,  which  is  destined  to  become  the 
home  of  millions  of  freemen,  .should  seek  with  earnestness  and  zeal  to  re- 
deem their  names  from  oblivion,  and  to  assign  to  each  the  honor  due  him  as 
a  pioneer  in  the  great  woik  ? 

In  con(;luHion,  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society,  through  me,  beg  leave 
to  ofTer  to  your  accept  ince  the  following  do('uments: 

Fimt  —  Copies  of  their  "Collections  for  1867,"  containing  a  memoir  of 
Costantine  Beltrami. 

Second — An  engro.s.sed  copy  of  the  bill  which  passed  the  legislature  of 
Minne.sota,  and  was  approved  by  the  governor,  to  establish  the  county  of 
Beltrami. 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  401 

Third  —  Certified  copies  of  the  proceedings  of  the  legislature  of  Min- 
nesota, and  of  the  executive  council  of  this  society  on  the  same  subject. 

Fourth — A  photograph  of  Major  Taliaferro,  together  with  an  explana- 
tory letter  from  him  to  Signor  Rosa. 

All  of  which  will  be  transmitted  with  this  letter  to  your  address, 
through  the  medium  of  the  United  States  State  Department  iu  Washington 
City.     I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 
(Henry)  H.  H.  Sibley, 

President  3Iinnesota  Historical  Society.  ^ 

The  poetical  propensities  of  General  Sibley,  though  less  fre- 
quently indulged,  and  less  severely  cultivated,  than  other 
impulses  with  which  his  nature  was  endowed,  yet  found  their 
special  opportunities.  During  the  civil  strife  between  J^orth 
and  South,  not  only  the  line  between  pulpit  and  platform  was 
obliterated,  but,  too  often,  the  minister  devoted  the  Sabbath 
hours  for  divine  worship,  and  sacred  instruction,  to  the  dis- 
cussion of  questions  coaceruing  national  government,  partisan 
politics,  construction  and  interpretation  of  the  Constitution, 
foreign  affairs,  and  the  "things  that  are  Caesar's"  in  general. 
The  survivors  of  that  epoch  still  remember,  how,  for  years 
previous  to  the  firing  of  the  first  gun  on  Fort  Sumter,  and 
thenceforward,  for  years  after,  the  pulpit,  not  less  in  Boston, 
INew  York,  and  Brooklyn,  than  in  Charleston,  Eichmond,  and 
New  Orleans,  in  fact,  in  all  cities,  both  North  and  South,  lent 
its  whole  influence  to  inflame  the  discontent  of  the  two  great 
sections  of  the  country,  and  intensify  the  hate  that  already 
foretokened  the  bloodiest  and  most  unnatural  conflict  known 
to  any  century.  There  are  times,  indeed,  when  moral  ques- 
tions enter  the  sphere  of  political  action,  and  a  voice  from  the 
pulpit  is  no  less  imperative  in  behalf  of  honesty,  integrity, 
justice,  and  truth,  in  social  and  civil  life,  than  is  a  voice  from 
the  platform,  or  from  state  legislatures,  judicial  benches,  and 

1  Giacomo  Coslanllne  Beltrami,  bora  iu  Bergamo,  Italy,  1779,  was  an  eminent  Italian 
patriot,  who,  belonging  to  the  order  of  the  0(>-6o?ia?-i, during  the  civil  commotions  in  1820,  was 
•exiled  from  his  country,  and,  having  traveled  in  Germany,  France,  and  England,  came  to 
the  United  States  in  1823.  Accompanied  by  Major  Taliaferro,  he  reached  St.  Anthony  Falls, 
and  Fort  Snelling,  May  20,  1823,  and  suhseiiuently  explored  certain  regions  of  the  Northwest 
Territory.  He  was,  while  in  Italy,  chancellor  of  the  departments  of  Stura  and  the  Tanaro, 
judge  of  the  court  at  Udine,  and  of  the  civil  and  criminal  court  at  Macerata.  The  legisla- 
ture of  Minnesota  honored  him  by  establishing  a  county,  in  the  state,  called  by  his  name. 
The  volnme  referred  to  in  the  letter  of  General  Sibley,  is  dedicated  "Alia  Sociela  Slovica  di 
Minnesota,"  contains  a  beautiful  engraving  of  Beltrami  pushing  bis  canoe  up  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  bears  the  official  seal  and  autographs  of  the  municipal  officers  of  Bergamo.  A 
brief  monograph  of  Beltrami  is  found  in  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society  Collections,  Vol. 
III.,  Part  3,  Second  Edition,  1889,  pp.  8.3-196. 

26 


402  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

national  councils.  But,  this  conceded,  nothing  can  justify, 
or  excuse,  the  transubstantiation  of  the  pulpit  into  a  political 
tribune,  or  the  church  into  an  arena  of  secular  strife.  At 
such  times,  men  whose  early  memories  of  what  religion  seemed 
to  them,  in  its  heaven-born  spirit,  as  a  religion  of  peace  and 
good  will,  their  sense  of  religious  propriety  being  strong 
besides,  are  apt  to  express  themselves  in  a  manner  propor- 
tioned to  the  strength  of  their  judgments,  and,  not  unfre- 
quently,  the  Muse  is  invited  to  lend  her  numbers  to  enforce 
their  emotions. 

A  sentiment  of  this  kind  bubbled  up,  one  day,  in  the  breast 
of  General  Sibley,  after  a  painful  disappointment  experienced 
during  Sabbath  services,  from  which  he  had  hoped  to  gain 
some  spiritual  good.  Judged  by  the  rules  of  art,  the  poem 
will  not  rank  with  the  best  effusions  of  the  Muse,  while  yet 
its  character  and  grade  are  far  above  the  mediocre  products 
of  the  man  who  thinks  that  "jingling  rhymes''  are  poetry. 
There  is  not  only  a  quiet  depth  and  steady  flow  of  moral  feel- 
ing in  it,  but  it  paints,  in  simple  words,  two  pictures, —  ^'■Then 
and  Noiv,^^ — which,  if  portrayed  upon  the  painter's  canvas, 
would  excite  admiration  of  their  truth,  and  thanks  for  their 
appropriateness,  not  only  to  the  times  in  which  they  were 
written,  but,  in  many  respects,  to  our  own  day. 

THEN  AND  NOW. 

THEN. 
Upon  a  mount  begirt  with  green,  a  massive  building  stands, 
To  honor  him  whose  dwelling  's  in  "a  house  not  made  with  hands;" 
Around  its  ancient  walls  —  untrimmed  the  grand  old  oaks  arise, 
And  spread  their  branches  far  and  wide  toward  distant  skies. 
It  was  a  Sabbath  morn,  the  sun  was  shining  bright. 
Athwart  the  grave  stones,  thickly  strown,  it  shed  its  peerless  light; 
As  here  the  dead,  both  old  and  young,  of  generations  past, 
'Mid  tears  of  mourning  friends,  had  found  a  home  at  last. 
The  chuH'h  within  was  neat  and  trim,  with  seats  of  homely  mould, 
And  the  worn  puljut  show'd  no  trace  of  crimson  or  of  gold. 
Devout,  tlie  preactlicr  lifts  his  hands  up  to  the  throne  of  grace, 
And  j)rays  for  blessings  on  the  heads  of  all  the  human  race. 
A  man  of  God,  who  long,  like  Enoch,  walked  in  pious  ways. 
And  sought  no  worthless  laud  of  men,  but  labor'd  for  his  praise. 
The  earnest  crowd,  compos'd  of  all  who  liv'd  in  peace  around, 
p]ach  worldly  thought  had  bani.sh'd  far,  from  off  that  sacred  ground. 
The  j)rayerH  are  nuido,  the  hymns  are  sung,  and  then  the  holy  priest, 
With  mind  intent,  asks  heavn'ly  aid  to  spread  the  go.spel  feast; 


I 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  403 

The  pages  of  the  good  old  book  turns  o'er  witli  reverential  awe, 

And  to  his  list'ning  people  speaks,  of  God's  most  holy  law. 

He  points  them  to  the  cross  of  Christ,  whence  hope  alone  can  flow 

To  all  who,  curs'd  by  sin,  are  doom'd  to  grovel  here  below. 

He  pleads  with  youth  and  age,  while  tears  stream  down  his  furrow'd 

cheek, 
That  they  would  turn  from  worldly  ways,  their  Saviour  kind  to  seek. 
He  warns  them  of  the  wrath  to  come,  but  most  he  cares  to  dwell, 
On  Jesus'  boundless  love,  who  came,  to  save  their  souls  from  hell; 
And  when  he  closed,  and,  to  their  homes,  dismiss'd  his  humble  flock, 
Among  them  none  were  found  to  scorn,  or  make  of  truth  a  mock. 
The  teachings  of  that  meek  old  man  sank  deep  in  ev'ry  breast, 
And  gave  to  each  a  foretaste  of  the  promis'd  heavenly  rest. 


I  saw  within  the  city  dense,  full  many  a  glittering  spire. 
That  shone  with  light  reflected  oft,  like  points  of  living  fire, 
Denoting  where  the  great  array  of  Christian  people  meet. 
To  worship  God,  and  doctrine  learn  at  some  Gamaliel's  feet. 
'Tis  Sabbath  day,  we'll  enter  in,  with  reverence  appear. 
And  join  the  throng  of  worshipers,  to  offer  praise  sincere. 
The  sexton,  with  an  easy  grace,  points  out  a  distant  pew. 
And  intimates,  with  shake  of  head,  'twill  do  for  me  and  you. 
No  owner  of  the  cushioned  seats  invites  us  to  partake 
Of  the  luxurious  lounge  on  which  he  prays  "for  Jesus'  sake." 
The  broadcloth  coat  and  silken  dress  alone  an  entrance  claim, 
To  where  the  pious  gentry  sit,  great  man  and  smirking  dame. 
The  roof  is  arch'd,  the  pillars  grand,  all  perfect  and  complete, 
Except  that  strangers,  poorly  clad,  must  take  an  oaken  seat. 
The  aisles  are  all  well  carpeted,  the  pulpit  cover'd  o'er 
With  crimson  velvet,  rich  and  rare,  all  hanging  down  before. 
Upon  a  fine  projection,  hemm'd  with  something  like  point  lace. 
The  Book  of  Truth,  in  handsome  guise,  rests  in  its  proper  place. 
And  now  the  organ's  swelling  notes  attention  call  to  him 
Who  occupies  the  sacred  desk, — in  form  both  tall  and  slim. 
His  features  solemnly  drawn  down,  his  coat  and  neck-cloth  white, 
Are  each  of  foultless  cut  and  fit,  his  eyes  are  keen  and  bright. 
He  gives  the  psalm,  which  duly  sung,  by  the  small  chosen  choir 
Of  tooting  juveniles,  the  rest  all  listening  to  admire. 
"  Behold  he  prayeth,"  but  his  prayers  are  not  like  those  of  old. 
Instead  of  bowing  in  the  dust,  he's  confident  and  bold. 
He  tells  the  Majesty  of  Heaven  what  straightway  should  be  done, 
To  put  the  moral  world  in  shape  that  it  may  smoothly  run. 
He  asks  that  all  may  think  like  him,  for  he  is  surely  right, 
In  politics,  religion,  and  all  topics  black  and  white. 
The  spirit  of  the  Publican,  who  smites  his  breast,  and  cries 
For  mercy  undeserv'd  by  him,  dulls  not  our  preacher's  eyes. 
More  like  the  stately  Pharisee,  who  renders  thanks  to  Heav'n, 
That  he  is  not  like  other  men,  swell'd  up  with  sinful  leav'n. 


404  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

The  sermon  next  in  course  comes  off,  and  here  the  parson  shines, 
Although  he  slight  attention  pays  to  the  celestial  lines, 
Which  warn  him  often  not  to  judge  his  fellow  man  with  hate, 
Lest  he  himself  be  judg'd  by  One  who  holds  the  scales  of  fate. 
He  coldly  prates  of  what  all  owe,  to  God  and  man,  of  love, 
And  more  dilutes  his  weak  discourse,  upon  the  world  above. 
With  mundane  questions,  politics,  and  Radical  Tom  Jones, 
Than  points  the  thirsty  soul  to  Heav'n  in  earnest  tones. 

0  vile  deceit!  pretenses  ialse!  is  this  religion  pure, 

Such  as  the  Saviour  taught  on  earth,  the  soul's  disease  to  cure? 

What  wonder  that  the  land  is  full  of  unbelief  and  crime, 

When  parsons  leave  their  mission  high,  eternity,  for  time. 

And  pander  to  the  vicious  taste,  for  tinsel  glare  and  show, 

Forgetting  that  the  Lord  of  life,  from  Heav'n  came  here  below, 

To  save  from  death  the  souls  of  men,  and  not  to  regulate 

The  small  affairs  of  civil  life,  or  government  of  state. 

The  congregation  unrebuk'd,  pleased  with  themselves  and  him, 

Soon  homeward  wend  their  gleesome  way,  dismissed  by  Reverend  Prim. 

The  men  to  talk  of  Jones,  the  dames,  of  flummery.  Prim,  and  dress, 

With  no  thought  of  the  future  life  to  trouble  or  oppress. 

The  preacher,  elegant,  has  made  his  bow, 

1  follow  suit,  and  sorrow  most  that  then's  not  NOW. 

There  is  one  other  department  of  writing  in  which  Gen- 
eral Sibley  excels,  and  a  specimen  of  which  it  is  but  justice 
to  his  pen  to  reproduce.  It  combines  a  deep  tenderness  of 
heart,  with  his  accustomed  propriety  of  expression,  and  is  a 
credit  to  the  sympathizing  character  of  his  manhood,  as  it  is 
proof  of  the  constancy  of  a  personal  affection,  which  death 
itself  could  not  quench.  It  is  an  elegaic  tribute  to  the  departed 
friend  of  his  youth,  and  companion  of  his  riper  years.  It 
has  the  low  sound  of  the  sighing  wind  in  the  cypress  tree.  At 
the  close  of  one  of  his  contributions  to  the  Minnesota  Histori- 
cal Society,  in  the  year  1874,  he  commemorates  the  virtues  of 
his  deceased  comrade  Colonel  Hercules  L.  Dousman,  in  the 
following  style: 

"I  cannot  but  recall  to  mind,  with  the  keenest  regret,  that  the  friend 
of  my  early  and  riper  years, —  my  associate  in  business  for  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  century, —  who  directed  my  steps  for  the  first  time  to  what  is  now  Min- 
nesota, and  to  whom  I  was  fervently  attached,  has  gone  the  way  of  all  the 
earth.  He  was  summoned  away  suddenly,  when  liis  bodily  vigor  seemed 
hardly  to  have  been  diiuinished,  or  his  intellectual  energies  to  have  lost  any 
portion  of  their  force.  He  left  behind  liim  no  enemies  to  exult  over  his 
dei)arture,  but  very  many  warm  friends  and  dear  relatives  to  lament  the 
death  of  one  whose  place  can  never  be  filled  in  their  affections.  All  that 
was  mortal  of  the  imposing  form  and  presence  of  the  deceased,  now  lies 
mouldering  in  the  cemetery  he  himself  had  donated  to  the  Catholic  Church 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  405 

at  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  the  magnificent  marble  monument  erected  by  lov- 
ing hands  to  commemorate  his  virtues  will  have  become  dim  and  tarnished 
by  time,  long  ere  his  noble  example  shall  cease  to  exercise  an  influence  upon 
the  community  and  the  state  of  which  he  was  an  honored  member." 

"Why  weep  ye,  then,  for  him,  who  having  run 

The  bound  of  man's  apiioiuted  years,  at  last, 
Life's  blessings  all  enjoyed,  life's  labors  done, 

Serenely  to  his  final  rest  has  passed: 
While  the  soft  memory  of  his  virtues  yet 

Lingers,  like  twiliglit  hues  when  the  bright  sun  has  set."l 

Not  less  eloquently,  simply,  and  tenderly,  does  he  speak, 
on  his  feet,  as  he  stands  beside  the  coffin  of  the  brave  soldier 
he  loves  so  well,  the  man  whose  virtues  he  delighted  to  extol^ 
his  life-long  friend.  Major  Joseph  E.  Brown.  Whether  writ- 
ing or  speaking,  the  same  gift  and  aptitude  of  expression,  in 
thought  and  feeling,  nej^er  desert  him.  Paying  the  last  trib- 
ute of  affection  to  the  remains  of  his  endeared  companion,  he 
says: 

"My  acquaintance  with  Major  Brown  dates  back  thirty-five  years — 
more  than  the  lifetime  of  a  generation.  Daring  all  of  that  long  jieriod  a 
friendship  existed  between  us  which  continued  to  the  day  of  his  death. 
When  separated  from  each  other,  we  corresponded  more  or  less  frequently, 
so  that  our  interchanges  of  letters  amounted  to  hundreds,  if  not  to  thous- 
ands. We  were  generally  of  like  opinion  on  questions  of  public  policy, 
and  especially  did  we  accord  in  the  belief  that  justice  to  the  oppressed  and 
downtrodden  Indian  race  demanded  a  total  change  of  policy  on  the  part  of 
the  government  and  its  agents.  He  was  the  firm  friend  of  the  poor  and 
sufiering  among  whites  and  Indians,  and  by  none  will  his  sudden  demise  be 
more  sincerely  lamented  than  by  those  of  that  class  who  were  accustomed 
to  look  to  him  for  succor.  Major  Brown  was  remarkable  for  his  courage  as 
well  as  for  his  equanimity.  I  have  seen  him  in  the  heat  of  battle,  when 
bullets  flew  thick  and  fast  around  him,  but  his  cheek  blanched  not,  nor  did 
he  evince  by  outward  appearance  that  he  was  at  all  disturbed  by  the  fact  he 
was  liable  at  any  moment  to  be  struck  down. 

"But,  my  friends,  this  is  neither  the  time  nor  the  occasion  to  enter  into 
details  of  the  life  and  character  of  our  deceased  friend.  That  will  be  done 
by  some  competent  hand  hereafter,  when  the  histroy  of  our  political  organi- 
zation, as  a  territory  and  state,  shall  be  written.  No  man  stands  forth 
more  prominently  as  the  untiring  friend  of  Minnesota  in  all  the  phases  of 
her  existence  than  does  Major  Brown,  and  any  history  which  does  not  mark 
him  as  among  the  first  to  labor  efficiently  for  her  advancement  and  gen- 
eral prosperity  will  be  simply  defective  and  incomplete. 

"  There  remains  to  us  only  to  perform  the  last  office  of  the  dead.  To  us 
among  the  old  settlers  the  lesson  taught  us  that  soon  we  shall  follow  our 
friend  to  the  other  world,  should  operate  as  a  warning  to  put  our  houses  in 
order,  and  prepare  for  the  momentous  change.     What  can  we  offer  but  our 


1  Coll.  Jlinn.  Hist.  Soc.  Vol.  III.,  Part  2,  pp.  199,  200. 


406  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

warm  and  earnest  sympathies  to  the  sorrow-stricken  family,  in  this  their 
great  bereavement?  All  that  remains  of  the  affectionate  husband  and  the 
fond  and  indulgent  father,  cold  and  lifeless,  is  contained  in  the  casket  before 
us,  which  is  about  to  be  consigned  to  the  earth.  We  can  but  point  the  sur- 
viving relatives  to  the  consolation  offered  by  the  Christian  faith,  for  all  else, 
in  such  an  hour  as  this,  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit. 

"  And  now,  my  old  and  tried  friend,  I  leave  you  to  your  long  and  lonely 
sleep.     Peace  to  your  ashes.     'Ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to  dust.'  " 

If  the  source  of  writing  well  is,  as  Horace  says,  "to  be 
wise," — ^^scribendi  recte  sapere  est  fons  et  princiinum,^'' — por- 
traying truth  in  feeling,  thought,  and  character,  expressing 
what  is  ordinary  in  forms  of  ordinary  speech,  what  is  beau- 
tiful in  forms  of  beauty,  what  is  grand,  grandly,  and  the  ten- 
der in  terms  of  tenderness,  intolerant  of  sloven  carelessness, 
everything  conformed  to  nature  as  th^  highest  art,  none  will 
dispute  that  General  Sibley  has  a  claim  to  a  place  among  the 
models  of  fine  composition.  Whatever  the  form  of  his  pro- 
duction, it  is  pervaded  always  by  unity  of  sentiment  and 
clear  design,  and  moves  with  simplicity  and  ease  straight  to 
its  end.i 


1  The  following  partial  list  of  published  writings  of  General  Sibley  is  found,  chiefly 
in  the  catalogue  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  467,  408: 

1  Description  of  Minnesota,  18o0. —  Minnesota  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  37. 

2  History  of  the  Minnesota  State  Railroad  Bonds,  "Five  Million  Loan." — Address,  H. 

E.,  Feb.  8,  1871. 

3  Hunting  on  the  Western  Prairies. —  Hawker's  Instructions  to  Young  Sportsmen,  1853. 

4  Inaugural  Address  as  Governor  of  Minnesota,  1858. 

5  Report  to  Adjutant  General  ().  Malmros,  Battle  of  Birch  Coolie,  1862. 

6  Report,  Battle  of  Wood  Lake,  1862. 

7  Memoir  of  Hercules  L.  Dousiuan.— Minn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  Vol.  III.,  p.  192. 

8  Memoir  of  Jean  Nicollet. —  Minn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  183. 

9  Message  from  (jovernor  Sibley,  Minnesota,  1859. 

10  Reminiscences,  Personal  and  Historical. —  Minn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  4.'57. 

11  Ad<lress  before  Minn.  Hist.  Soc,  InW. 

12  Reminiscences  of  ICarly  Days  of  Minnesota. — Minn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  Vol.  III.,  p.  242. 

13  Sketch  of  John  Other- Day  .—  Minn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  Vol.  III.,  p.  99. 

14  Speech  before  Committee  on  Elections,  U.  S.  H.  R. —  Minn.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  Vol.  I., 

p.  C3. 

15  Speech  on  the  Territories  and  our  Indian  Relations,  U.  S.  II.  R.,  1850,  Washington. 

16  Hihtory  of  Jack  Frazer. —  Pioneer,  1866. 

17  Religion  of  the  Dakotas. —  Pioneer,  18t)(). 

18  Address,  'lliirteenth  Anniversary  of  the  Minnesota  State  Historical  Society,  1879. 

19  Address  before  the  Young  Men's  (bristian  Association. 

20  A<ldreK8  at  the  Inaugural  of  (Jovernor  Hubbard. 

21  Address  at  the  Senii-Centennial  BaiKjuet,  Advent  of  H.  H.  Sibley  to  Mendota. 

22  AddresH  ai  the  (iuarto-Centennial  Celebration  of  the  Battle  of  Birch  Coolie. 

23  First  Address  of  Hon.  II.  H.  Sibley  to  his  Constituents. 

24  Second  Address  of  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley  to  his  Constituents. 
26  Eulogy  on  General  Ulysses  S.  (jrant. 

The  various  speecbeB  of  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley  while  in  Congress  arc  found  in  the  vol- 
umes of  the  CongresHiotial  Globe,  during  the  years  1848-1852. 


Ht)N,  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  407 

A  love  of  the  romantic  mid  beautiful  in  Nature  is  one  of  the 
prominent  characteristics  of  General  Sibley's  mind.  The  aes- 
thetic feeling  asserts  itself  everywhere,  and  is  found  ever 
blending  itself  with  the  noblest  sentiments  of  morality  and 
religion.  The  student  of  ethics  and  aesthetics  will  easily  com- 
prehend this  fact,  aware  how  the  phenomena  of  both  are  mu- 
tually related,  the  intellectual  act  accompanied  by  the  moral 
feeling  in  the  one  case  being  the  analogue  of  the  intellectual 
act  accompanied  by  the  aesthetic  feeling  in  the  other.  Both 
coexist  in  all  noble  minds,  and  resolve  themselves  into  a  higher 
unity  in  consciousness;  just  as  in  the  sublime  trilogy  of  Plato, 
'■'■the  good,  the  beautiful,  and  true,^^  are  conceived  of  as  but  dif- 
erent  forms  of  the  one  Supreme  Excellence  —  revealing  itself 
in  the  human  spirit,  in  Nature,  and  in  revelation,  alike,  and 
whose  eternal  fountain  is  the  Absolute  Being,  the  source  of 
all  existence,  motion,  and  life,  whether  of  matter  or  mind.  It 
was  the  inborn  love  of  Nature,  and  of  a  life  of  adventure  in 
Nature's  wild  and  untrodden  retreats,  that  first  constrained 
young  Sibley  to  forsake  his  paternal  home.  It  was  his  friend 
Dousmau's  glowing  account  of  the  scenery  and  sports  of  the 
far  Northwest,  that  tempted  his  feet  to  wend  their  way  to  Men- 
dota,  and  make  his  home  where  the  waters  meet.  Already, 
in  his  own  description  of  the  scene  when  his  eyes  first  rested 
on  Fort  Suelling  and  the  mingling  of  the  Mississippi  and  Min- 
nesota, and  the  sunshine  dancing  on  the  panorama,  we  see 
the  expression  of  his  love  of  the  beautiful.  It  was  the  same 
sentiment  that  asserted  its  supremacy  as,  unconscious  of  what 
it  might  bring,  he  stood,  a  groomsman,  attracted  by  one  who 
afterward  bore  his  name,  and  has  ever  maintained  its  rights 
in  admiration  of  womanly  beauty  and  grace.  It  mingles  itself 
everywhere  with  his  inmost  life  and  thought,  and  streams 
from  the  end  of  his  pen  in  lines  of  exquisite  style  and  taste. 
Nature,  to  him,  was  more  than  a  painted  scene,  void  of  all 
soul  and  life ;  more  than  a  poem  written  by  art,  whose  author 
had  long  since  perished.  She  w^is  no  less  than  a  living  being, 
a  breathing,  whispering,  teacher  of  all  things  good,  a  source 
of  the  noblest  and  loftiest  truths.  What  can  be  more  beauti- 
ful than  the  following  description  of  the  romantic  region  he 
loved  so  well,  and  which  he  records  in  one  of  his  papers  to  the 
State  Historical  Society,  as  one  of  the  motives  for  state  pride? 

"It  has  been  my  fortune  to  visit,  at  one  time  or  another,  almost  every 
part  of  our  widely  extended  state.     The  area  now  comprised  in  the  south- 


408  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

ern  counties  was  my  hunting  ground,  year  after  year.  I  have  ascended  the 
Minnesota  valley  to  its  termination,  and  have  roamed  along  the  shores  of 
the  magnificent  lakes  of  the  Kandiyohi  region,  and  those  northwest  toward 
the  Red  river.  I  have  traversed  the  prairies  between  Fort  Ridgley  and 
Mankato  south  to  the  boundary  of  Iowa,  and  I  have  stood  by  the  far-off 
iron  monuments  which  mark  the  line  between  Minnesota  and  the  Territory 
of  Dakota,  and  yet  to  this  moment  I  am  unable  to  decide  which  section  is 
the  most  beautiful  and  attractive.  Like  the  individual  who  finds  himself 
surrounded  by  a  bevy  of  fair  maidens,  equal  in  charms  but  of  different 
styles  of  loveliness,  and  adjudges  the  palm  to  the  one  he  looks  upon,  until 
his  eye  rests  upon  another  to  be  dazzled  in  turn  by  her  attractions,  so  I, 
after  gazing  at  the  scenery  in  various  parts  of  the  state  successively,  have 
asked  myself  each  time  the  question,  'Where  can  a  more  inviting  region  be 
found  upon  the  earth?'  Each  landscape  has  seemed  to  be  unapproachable 
in  its  perfection  and  the  symmetry  of  its  proportions,  until  another,  its 
peer  in  all  respects,  has  extorted  the  same  measure  of  unqualified  admira- 
tion." 

Or  what  more  beautiful  thau  his  description  of  the  scene 
when,  arrayed  as  a  hunter  and  chasing  the  elk,  the  charm  of 
Nature  so  touched  his  sensitive  mind,  as  to  cause  him,  in  after 
years,  to  paint  the  same  on  his  glowing  page? 

"The  prairie,  clothed  in  its  variegated  autumn  hues,  appeared  to  rise 
and  fall  like  the  undulations  of  the  ocean,  and  in  all  directions  might  be 
perceived  points  of  woodland  growth  giving  forth  all  the  tints  peculiar  to 
an  American  forest.  A  thin  belt  of  trees  encircled  a  lake  not  distant,  the 
bright  sheet  of  water,  unruflied  by  a  breeze,  gleaming  through  the  openings 
in  all  its  glorious  beauty.  It  seemed  almost  a  sacrilege  to  Nature  to  invade 
her  solitudes,  only  to  carry  with  us  dismay  and  death." 

Or,  again,  what  more  true  than  the  sentiment  expressed 
when  speaking  of  the  early  pioneers  of  Minnesota,  he  says, 

"Men  who  like  Cooper's  Leatherstockmg  are  brought  face  to  face  with 
Nature  in  her  deepest  solitudes,  are  led  naturally  to  the  worship  of  that 
Great  Being  whose  hand  alone  could  have  created  the  vast  expanse  of  wood 
and  prairie,  mountain,  lake,  and  river  which  spread  themselves  daily  in 
endless  extent  and  variety  before  their  eyes." 

Or,  once  more,  what  more  impressive  than  his  words  when 
recognizing  the  Providence  that  saved  his  life,  not  merely 
once,  but  many  times,  amid  the  strange  adventures  of  his 
perilous  career,  he  said,  on  one  occasion  of  deliverance, 

"The  frc(iuenter of  Nature's  vast  solitudes  may  be  a  wild  and  reckless 
man,  but  he  cannot  be  essentially  an  irreligious  man.  The  solemn  silence 
of  the  forest  and  the  prairie,  the  unseen  dangers  incident  to  this  mode  of 
life,  and  the  consciousness  that  the  providence  of  God  can  alone  avert  them, 
all  these  have  the  efJect  to  lead  even  thoughtless  men  to  serious  and  deep 
reflection." 


HON.  HENRY    HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  409 

Wherever  he  roamed,  no  matter  how  rough  his  way,  or 
distant  soever  his  footsteps  bore  him  from  scenes  of  civiliza- 
tion, the  established  forms  and  customs  of  society,  the  advan- 
tages the  life  of  crowded  cities,  and  the  opportunities  of  pub- 
lic intercourse,  might  bring,  still  the  vision  that  rose  before 
him  as  he  traversed  the  "open  prairie,"  and  the  "vast  soli- 
tudes of  Nature" — her  "  woods  and  wilds  " — was  an  enchant- 
ing one,  full  of  the  grandest  instruction.  He  became  an  inter- 
preter of  Nature,  and  a  worshiper  as  well.  He  could  testify, 
in  spite  of  the  "struggle  to  survive,"  that 

' '  The  youth  who  daily  farther  from  the  East  • 

Must  travel,  still  is  Nature's  priest, 

And,  by  the  vision  splendid, 

Is  on  his  way  attended." 
No  matter  how  deaf  the  region  to  all  the  voices  of  a  teeming 
population,  or  mute  of  culture  or  of  learning,  he  still  found  — 
to  use  his  own  words — a  ^'' companionship  of  Nature''''  which 
became  a  source  of  revelation  and  a  spring  of  meditation  such 
as  the  early  sages  found,  and,  taught  as  they  were  taught, — 
apart  from  books  and  tomes, —  learned  some  of  the  noblest, 
deepest,  and  sublimest  truths,  concerning  God,  man,  the  uni- 
verse, and  their  relations.  What,  in  his  classic  education,  he 
had  already  read  of  the  ancient  systems  of  faith,  and  myth- 
ologies in  connection  with  sylph  and  nymph,  fauna  and  flora, 
and  forest  bowers,  and  the  thoughts  of  men  who,  smitten  with 
the  love  of  Nature,  indulged  their  contemplation,  only  inten- 
sified his  desire,  and  added  a  mystic  sense  to  every  scene 
around  him.     The  words  of  Whittier,  he  understood,  when  the 

poet  said : 

"I  listen  to  the  Sibyl's  chant, 
The  voice  of  priest,  hierophant, 
I  know  what  Indian  Krishna  saith, 
And  what  of  life  and  what  of  death 
The  Daimon  taught  to  Socrates, 
And  what,  beneath  his  garden  trees, 
Slow  pacing,  with  a  dream-like  tread. 
The  solemn-thoughted  Plato  said." 

His  admiration  of  Wordsworth's  lines,  in  "Tintern  Ab- 
bey," and  which  he  deemed  even  grander  than  Byron's  cele- 
brated apostrophe  to  the  ocean,  or  his  oft-quoted  "pleasure  in 
the  pathless  woods,"  and  "rapture  on  the  lonely  shore,"  and 
"society  where  none  intrudes,"  more  fittingly  than  any  other 
express  precisely  what,  many  times,  he  has  declared  to  have 
been  his  own  experience,  in  his  communion  with  Nature: 


410  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

' '  I  have  heard 
The  still  sad  music  of  humanity, 
Nor  harsh,  nor  grating,  though  of  ample  power 
To  chasten  and  subdue,  And  I  have  felt 
A  Presence  that  disturbs  me  with  the  joy 
Of  elevated  thoughts,  a  sense  sublime 
Of  something  far  more  deeply  interfused, 
Whose  dwelling  is  the  light  of  setting  suns, 
And  the  round  ocean,  and  the  living  air, 
And  the  blue  sky,  and  in  the  mind  of  man; 
A  motion  and  a  spirit  that  impels 
,  All  thinking  things,  all  objects  of  all  thought, 

And  rolls  through  all  things.     Therefore  am  I  still 
A  lover  of  meadows  and  of  the  woods 
And  mountains,  and  all  that  we  behold. 
From  this  green  earth,  of  all  the  mighty  world 
Of  eye,  and  ear,  both  what  they  half  create 
And  what  perceive;  well  pleased  to  recognize 
In  Nature,  and  the  language  of  the  same, 
The  anchor  of  my  purest  thoughts,  the  nurse, 
The  guide,  the  guardian  of  my  heart,  and  soul 
Of  all  my  being." 

But  the  serious  and  divine  in  nature  were  not  the  only- 
things  that  engaged  his  attention,  and  the  ''sad  music  of  hu- 
manity "  and  the  great  soul  that  "rolls  through  all  things" 
were  frequently  exchanged  for  the  enjoyment  that  comes  to  a 
keen  sense  of  the  comical  and  humorous.  No  man  relished  a 
^^ good  joke,'^  or  a  ^'- seriocomic  circumstancej^^  more  than  did 
General  Sibley  in  his  early  days, —  a  characteristic  that  still 
adheres  to  his  later  years.  The  voices  of  Nature  are  not  al- 
ways pensive,  and  her  lessons  are  not  always  confined  to  re- 
ligion. Even  in  her  more  rude  and  uninviting  forms  she 
oftentimes  imparts  instruction  of  the  choicest  and  most  ser- 
viceable quality,  and  impresses  her  lessons  in  the  midst  of 
scenes  and  circumstances  the  most  amusing.  General  Sibley 
was  not  a  stranger  to  this  fact,  and  that  the  enjoyment  de- 
rived therefrom  is  always  in  proportion  to  man's  capacity  to 
appreciate  the  situation.  Among  the  many  mirth  provoking 
things  in  his  experience  was  that  of  his  ^^ ten-mile  ride,  bare- 
headed,^^ over  a  stony  way,  exposed  to  the  pitiless  blasts  of  a 
Minnesota  winter,  as  the  "cold  winds  whistled  through  the 
trees,"  and  its  "icy  fangs"  made  him  feel  what  Shakespeare 
called  "the  .scYwon'.s-  difference,'''' — the  thei'inometcr  standing 
twenty  degrees  below  zero,  the  icicles  depending  from  his  nos- 
trils and  beard.     To  make  a  virtue  of  a  necessity,  and  the 


HON.  HENRY   HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  411 

best  of  a  bad  situation,  is  always  deemed  an  exploit  of  pru- 
dence. The  comic  feature  of  this  event,  however,  was  the 
cool,  philosophic  manner  in  which  the  victim  of  bareheadness 
extracted  comfort  from  the  severity  that  wellnigh  ended  his 
career,  calmly  saying  in  sweet  submission  as  the  blasts  blew 

on: 

"  This  is  no  flattery  !     These  are  counselors 
That  feelingly  persuade  me  what  I  am  ! 
Sweet  are  the  uses  of  adversity, 
Which,  like  the  toad,  ugly  and  venomous, 
Wears  yet  a  jewel  in  its  head. 
And  this,  our  life,  exempt  from  public  haunt. 
Finds  tongues  in  trees,  books  in  the  running  brooks. 
Sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  everything  !  " 

Not  less  comical  and  humorous,  at  the  other  end  of  the 
thermometer,  is  his  account  of  the  sad  fate  that  befell  poor 
Labathe  one  hot  summer  day,  at  a  tea-party  where  "Indian 
etiquette  "  required  no  manners  save  the  consumption  of  all 
that  is  set  before  anyone,  and  where  an  imperfect  use  of 
English,  by  a  Canadian  Frenchman,  with  unusual  politeness 
on  the  part  of  the  waiter  and  hostess,  almost  terminated  La- 
bathe's  mortal  existence.  General  Sibley  shall  tell  the  story 
in  his  own  inimitable  style: 

"Joseph  Laframboise,  who  died  several  years  since,  was  a  capital  mimic, 
spoke  with  fluency  four  or  five  diiferent  languages  and  he  was  withal  an 
inveterate  practical  joker.  He  and  Alex.  Faribault  were  wont  to  amuse 
themselves  at  the  expense  of  Labathe,  who  was  a  simple-minded,  honest  sort 
of  a  man,  and  by  no  means  a  matth  for  his  tormentors. 

"A  standing  jest  at  his  cost,  was  his  experience  at  a  tea-party  at  Fort 
Snelling.  The  trio  mentioned  was  invited  by  Captain  G.  of  the  army  to 
take  tea  and  spend  the  evening  at  his  quarters,  and  the  invitation  was  ac- 
cepted. It  was  in  the  month  of  July,  and  the  weather  intensely  warm.  The 
party  in  due  time  were  seated  around  the  table,  and  the  cups  and  saucers 
"were  of  the  generous  proportions  ignored  in  these  modern  and  more  fashion- 
able days.  It  should  be  premised  that  Indian  etiquette  demands  on  all 
festive  occasions,  that  the  visitor  shall  leave  nothing  unconsumed  of  the 
meat  or  drink  placed  before  him.  The  large  cup  filled  with  tea  was  handed 
to  Labathe  and  the  contents  disposed  of.  The  poor  fellow  at  that  time 
could  sjjeak  nothing  more  of  English  than  the  imperfect  sentence  'Tank 
you.'  When  his  cup  was  empty,  Mrs.  G.,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the 
table,  said  in  her  suave  and  gentle  manner,  '  Mr.  Labathe,  please  take 
some  more  tea.'  Labathe  responded,  'Tank  you,  madam,'  which  being 
interpreted  by  the  waiter  to  mean  an  assent,  he  took  the  cup  and  handed 
it  to  the  hostess,  and  Mr.  Labathe  was  forthwith  freshly  supplied  with  the 
hot  liquid.  Labathe  managed  to  swallow  it,  sweltering  meanwhile  with 
the  fervent  heat  of  the  evening,  and  again  he  was  requested  to  permit  his 


412  ANCESTEY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

cup  to  be  replenished.  'Tank  you,  madam,'  was  the  only  reply  the  victim 
could  give.  Seven  great  vessels  full  of  the  boiling  tea  were  thus  succes- 
sively poured  down  his  throat,  Laframboise  and  Faribault  meantime  almost 
choking  with  suppressed  laughter.  For  the  eighth  time  the  waiter  ap- 
proached to  seize  the  cup,  when  the  aboriginal  politeness  which  had  enabled 
Labathe  to  bear  up  amid  his  sufferings  gave  way  entirely,  and  rising  from 
his  seat,  to  the  amazement  of  the  company,  he  exclaimed  frantically,  '  La- 
framboise,  2)our  V amour  de  hon  Dleu,  pour  quoi  ne  dites  vous  pas  a  madariie,  que 
je  ne'n  veut  point  davantage.'  ('Laframboise,  for  the  love  of  God,  why  do 
you  not  tell  madame  that  I  do  not  wish  for  any  more  tea?')  Labathe 
never  heard  the  last  of  that  scene  while  he  lived." 

It  has  ministered  to  the  enjoyment  of  General  Sibley,  to 
tell,  also,  how  the  old  Frenchman,  Rocque,  an  Indian  trader, 
who  resided  near  Lake  Pepin,  and  had  learned,  but  imper- 
fectly, to  pronounce  the  English  word  roast-beef  as  "/'os  &i/",'^ 
— this  being  the  extent  of  his  English  vocabulary,  —  was  in- 
convenienced by  his  lack  of  more  proficient  learning: 

"The  old  man  Rocque,  mentioned  as  residing  near  Lake  Pepin,  afforded 
another  instance  of  the  inconvenience  of  not  being  able  to  speak  English. 
He  knew  one  compound  word  only,  and  that  was  roast-beef,  which  he  called 
'ros-bif  He  accompanied  a  Dakota  delegation  to  Washington  City  on 
one  occasion,  and  when  asked  at  the  public  houses  what  he  would  be  helped 
to,  he  could  only  say  ros-hif!  So  that  the  unhappy  old  gentleman,  although 
longing  for  a  chance  at  the  many  good  things  he  would  have  preferred,  per- 
formed the  round  trip  on  '  ros-bif.'  " 

Scores  of  such  incidents  in  the  Minnesota  life  of  General 
Sibley  could  be  narrated,  and  other  circumstances  full  of 
amusement,  but  these  are  sufficient  to  show  his  love  of  the 
comic,  the  serio-comic,  and  the  humorous.  It  is  a  fact,  in 
mental  development,  that  men  who  are  the  most  susceptible 
to  deep  moral  and  religious  impressions,  and  to  the  finest  and 
noblest  emotions,  are  equally  susceptible  to  the  ridiculous, 
and  find  in  the  same  a  real  source  of  refreshment  and  enter- 
tainment. 

Throughout  his  whole  life,  General  Sibley  has  been  char- 
acterized as  a  man  of  large-hearted  benevolence,  and  almost 
boundless  UheraUty.  It  is  hardly  possible  to  speak  of  his  bene- 
factions without  invading  those  private  relations  of  life  which 
are  ever  held  sacred.  Could  the  many,  to  whom  he  has  given 
a  home  and  support,  or  whose  wants  have  been  met  by  help 
from  his  hands,  be  marshalled  to  tell  their  story  of  debt  tp 
liis  grace,  and  uttci-  tlicir  thanks,  the  volumes  of  grateful 
ackno\vi(;(lgment  wonld  swell  to  large  dimensions,  and  the 
comnumity  wonder  that  such  benevolence  has  lasted  so  long, 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  413 

and  that  it  still  exists  fresh  as  the  day  its  fragrance  first  greeted 
the  sense  of  the  poor  and  the  needy.  And  this  flower  of  di- 
vine beauty  whose  roots  are  in  heaven,  and  bloom  is  on  earth, 
in  the  souls  of  noble  men,  is,  next  to  a  firm  religious  faith, 
the  brightest  ornament  that  can  ever  adorn  the  human  char- 
acter. It  is  enough  to  mention  only  a  few  of  those  instances  his- 
tory has  made  public,  leaving  more  private  cases  to  the  hearts 
of  those  who  have  shared  his  bounty,  and  to  the  memorial 
book  of  him  who  holds  alms  deeds  in  unbroken  remembrance. 
The  timely  succor  sent  by  his  hands,  and  drawn  from  his  own 
stores,  or  paid  from  his  own  purse,  to  save  the  famished  and 
starving  Wahpetons,  in  the  dreadful  winter  of  1834-1835,  is  but 
one  illustration  of  his  generous  charity  to  helpless  and  suffer- 
ing men,  women,  and  children.  He  was,  indeed,  "the  Indian's 
friend! "  The  hospitalities  of  his  home  at  Mendota,  for  twenty- 
eight  years,  lavished  without  stint,  or  charge,  or  remuneration, 
on  travelers  both  distinguished  and  undistinguished,  fed  by  the 
choicest  game  his  skill  could  procure,  his  care  of  strangers  in 
distress,  and  his  "Godspeed,"  and  ^'Au  revoir,^^  as  they  left 
his  door,  are  still  remembered  by  those  who  survive  to  relate 
their  experience.  His  erection  of  a  neat  church  edifice,  at  a 
personal  cost  of  nearly  $4,000,  to  furnish  a  place  of  worship 
"for  Christian  people  of  all  denominations,"  and  its  care, 
with  all  the  expenses,  summer  and  winter,  is  another  instance 
attesting  the  same  high  spirit  of  charity,  and  illustrating  the 
same  large-hearted  and  Christian  good  will  to  men.  It  was 
said  in  praise  of  a  soldier  of  old,  ' '  He  hath  built  us  a  synagogue. ' ' 
'No  less  can  be  said  of  him  who  was  "first  colonel"  of  the 
"  first  Iowa  cavalry  "  then  under  Iowa  jurisdiction.  Of  him, 
too,  it  can  justly  be  said  his  "  alms  went  up  as  a  memorial  be- 
fore God."  In  the  day  when  the  question  is  asked  "  When  saw 
we  thee  an  hungered  and  fed  thee,  or  thirsty  and  gave  thee  drink, 
or  naked  and  clothed  thee,  or  a  stranger  and  took  thee  in?  "  And 
the  answer  is  given,  "Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  to  one  of  these, 
my  brethren,  ye  did  it  to  me,"'  this  deed,  like  others,  will 
not  be  forgotten!  While  bearing  the  expenses  of  the  church 
in  Mendota,  he  also  contributed  elsewhere,  and  paid  for  his 
pew  besides,  in  St.  Paul,  as  a  seat  to  occupy,  on  the  Sabbath 
day,  when  away  from  his  home.  When,  in  1886,  the  earth- 
quake at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  deprived  2,000  families 
of  all  their  support  and  possessions,  he  was  the  first  to 
appeal  to  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  behalf  of  the  suffer- 


414  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

ers,  and,  authorized  to  receive  and  solicit  help,  collected 
and  forwarded  large  sums  of  money,  the  executive  depart- 
ment of  the  city  of  Charleston  returning,  in  open  letter,  their 
"heartfelt  gratitude  and  glad  greetings  for  the  gracious  and 
generous  giving."^  Before  leaving  Mendota  he  set  aside  and 
"platted  in  lots,"  twelve  acres  of  land,  for  some  of  the  needy 
Indians,  —  to  be  called  "Sibley's  Indian  Homes,"  and  regis- 
tered as  such  in  the  county  records, —  all  to  be  deeded  in  per- 
petuity, upon  the  condition  that  the  Indians  would  commence 
the  habits  of  civilized  life,  till  the  soil,  attend  church,  and 
send  their  children  to  school.  Full  of  good  works,  when  the 
locust  plague  in  Minnesota  ravaged  whole  counties,  and  prop- 
erty everywhere  perished,  and  means  of  support  were  taken 
away,  he  devoted  his  time  and  labor,  under  appointment  from 
Governor  Davis,  superintending  the  charities  that  flowed  in 
on  every  side, —  his  own  among  the  most  ample,  —  distribut- 
ing the  same,  accounting  dollar  for  dollar  and  cent  for  cent, 
disbursing  in  all  not  less  than  $20,000  in  cash,  and  more  than 
$20,000  in  clothing  and  goods.  When  sickness  disabled  that 
eminent  man.  Bishop  Whipple,  from  performing  his  duties  in 
distribution  of  the  government's  Indian  annuities,  and  fulfill- 
ment of  Indian  contracts,  it  was  General  Sibley  who,  in  relief 
of  his  friend's  distress,  conducted  the  affairs  of  the  two  agen- 
cies, discharging  the  whole  laborious  trust,  refusing  to  accept 
the  slightest  compensation.  Such  acts  as  these,  the  number 
of  which  could  be  easily  increased,  are  evidences  of  a  self- 
sacrificing  benevolence  in  a  public  man,  the  knowledge  of 
whose  example  Minnesota  can  ill  afford  to  lose. 

One  further  public  instance  of  General  Sibley's  sympathy 
with  his  fellow  man,  in  his  "struggle  to  survive,"  stands 
connected  with  the  early  history  of  pi-eemption.  It  will  be 
enough  to  cite  this  as  an  illustration  of  his  kindness  to  men 
at  a  time  when  others,  under  the  same  circumstances,  would 
have  fleeced  the  settlers  of  all  they  possessed.  It  was  a  time 
when  the  vultures,  cormorants,  and  jay-birds,  of  land  specu- 
lation, and  the  money  lender  at  liigli  rates,  swooped  down  to 
fasten  their  beaks  and  claws  in  the  flesh  of  the  pioneer,  and 
pick  from  his  bones  all  that  could  either  make  him  appear,  or 
keep  him,  a  man.  The  story  is  told  in  the  "History  of  Dako- 
ta County"  by  the  Kev.  Edward  D.  Neill,  D.D.,  in  his  usual 


1   I'iiMIhIkmI  ciird  in  (li'iicral  Sibley's  possession,  dHted  Dec.  SI,  1886. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  415 

elegant  style,  and  deserves  to  be  reproduced  as  a  lesson  from 
which  not  a  few  might  yet  learn  both  "humanity  and  kind- 
ness:" 

"It  is  a  well  known  fact,  the  knowledge  of  which  is  improved  by  money 
lenders,  that  interest  rates,  in  new  countries,  are  invariably  high.  Most 
of  the  early  settlers  in  Dakota  county  were  compelled  by  stern  necessity  to 
become  pioneers,  and  were  consequently  often  victimized  by  these  shrewd 
operators  whose  rates  were  often  enormous.  The  tender  of  money,  at  what 
were  then  considered  low  rates,  was  even  looked  upon  with  suspicion;  it 
was  considered  as  the  first  movement  in  some  cunningly  devised  scheme, 
which  should  end  disastrously  to  the  borrower.  In  illustration  of  this 
General  Sibley  relates  the  following:  '  Starting  out  on  a  hunting  tour 
from  Mendota  one  day,  I  was  accosted  by  three  men  whose  appearance 
pleased  me.  They  inquired  for  me,  when  it  appeared  that  they  wished  to 
enter  lands  on  the  Vermillion.  A  meeting  was  appointed  and  the  men 
appeared  promptly.  The  negotiations  progressed,  but  nothing  was  said  as 
to  the  rate  of  interest,  until  one  of  the  number  remarked  that  fact,  and 
continued:  We  have  been  paying  five  per  cent  per  month  upon  our  loans, 
but  that  rate  appears  to  us  exorbitant;  if  three  per  cent  per  month,  upon 
the  present  loans  meets  with  your  approval,  it  will  be  entirely  satisfactory 
to  us. 

"  'I  thereupon  informed  them,  laughingly,  that  I  would  loan  them  the 
money  at  one  and  a  half  i)er  cent  per  month  and  that  I  would  be  debarred 
from  accepting  a  higher  rate  of  interest,  as  a  matter  of  principle. 

"  'But  the  settlers  were  suspicious,  and  retired  to  a  corner  for  consulta- 
tion, eyeing  their  amused  benefactor,  meantime,  with  the  sharpness  of  de- 
tectives. Finally,  however,  satisfying  themselves  that  all  was  well,  they 
accepted  the  money,  and  gave  in  return  but  a  simple  receipt. 

"'One  of  these  men  was  Alidon  Amidon,  the  first  settler  of  Empire 
township;  and  all  of  them  promptly  responded  to  their  obligations  when 
asked. ' 

"General  Sibley  furnished  money  to  seventy-five  or  a  hundred  early  settlers 
in  this  county,  always  on  the  easiest  conditions,  and,  with  only  one  or  two  excep- 
tions, was  repaid  promptly  and  in  full.  He  will  be  long  and  justly  remem- 
bered by  them  for  his  humanity  and  kindness.  " 

The  stream  of  such  "humanity  and  kindness"  has  not 
ceased  to  flow.  A  half-century  has  only  deepened  its  channel 
and  widened  its  banks.  Perpetually,  the  poor  man,  and  the 
man  in  straitened  circumstances,  seek  the  door  of  the  great 
benefactor.  Even  yet  the  red  man  has  not  forgotten  where 
help  and  a  heart  can  be  found.  It  is  from  the  pen  of  an  eye- 
witness, the  following  incident,  published,  to-day,  in  the  St. 
Paul  Dispatch,  is  taken: 


1  History  of  Dakota  County,  by  Rev.  E.  D.  Neill,  pp.  209,  210. 


416  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

"  If  there  is  another  man  in  St.  Paul  annoyed  as  much  as  the  gentle- 
man I  had  the  good  fortune  to  call  upon  yesterday  afternoon,  I  sympathize 
with  him.  I  actually  listened  to  the  begging  of  six  persons  while  in  his 
office  only  an  hour,"  was  the  conversation  overheard  at  the  Ryan  last  night. 
Continuing,  the  speaker  said:  "  First  came  an  Indian  who  had  a  sick  squaw, 
then  a  representative  of  a  church  who  wanted  a  donation  of  a  cool  hun- 
dred dollars  for  a  church  four  miles  in  the  country,  and  so  on.  He  told  me 
that  it  was  a  daily  occurrence  to  find  these  people  waiting  for  him  to  ask  a 
favor.  This  man  is  so  well  known,  and  has  done  so  much  for  Minnesota 
and  its  people,  that  whenever  those  who  knew  him  years  ago  become 
embarrassed  in  any  way  they  go  directly  to  him.  All  the  Indians  in  this 
part  of  the  country  know  him,  and  would  do  anything  for  him;  but  they 
are  not  backward  about  continually  asking  pecuniary  favors.  Do  you  know 
who  he  is?  His  office  is  on  the  ground  floor  of  the  Globe  building."  "You 
mean  General  Sibley?  "  "Yes.  I  was  there  the  other  day  when  he  gener- 
ously opened  his  purse  to  a  poor  woman  who  made  an  appeal  for  assist- 
ance." 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  man  !  His  charity,  which  an  apos- 
tle exalts  above  all  graces, —  charity,  double-aimed,  toward 
God  and  man,  and  without  which  all  mere  profession,  and 
gifts  of  men,  are  as  blaring  trombones  and  the  clash  of  brazen 
cymbals.  In  presence  of  this,  the  statesman,  orator,  debater, 
and  man  of  letters  and  business  affairs,  sinks  to  a  second 
place,  and  when  "earth  to  earth,"  is  spoken,  by  this  divine 
element,  the  noblest  and  greatest  of  all,  he  will  be  best  and 
longest  remembered.  It  is  his  moral  sympathy  that  is  the 
jewel  in  the  ring  of  all  his  excellence,  and  has  made  him  what 
he  is,  and  has  been  during  a  long  and  eventful  life.  Churches, 
institutions,  asylums,  homes  of  refuge,  schools  of  industry 
and  reform,  and  families,  all  have  confessed  themselves  debt- 
ors to  his  bounty.  Individual  obligations  are  still  more  nu- 
merous. He  has  been,  and  yet  is,  a  friend  to  the  poor,  a 
protector  to  the  widow,  a  guardian  of  the  fatherless,  a  guide 
to  the  stranger,  a  sympathizer  with  the  sufferer,  a  brother  in 
affliction,  a  parent  in  counsel.  No  man  can  say  that  General 
Sibley  ever  stood  with  face  averted  from  the  suppliant  who 
entreated  his  favor,  or  turned  away  with  a  harsh  word,  or 
a  scowl,  the  wretch  who  besought  his  compassion.  The 
breatli  of  his  universal  benevolence  salutes  all  mankind.  His 
name  is  written  in  the  clouds,  and  the  winds  waft  it  all  over 
the  state.  A  reservoir,  hundreds  drink  and  have  drank  of 
liis  streams.  A  sun,  as  many  warm  themselves  in  his  beams. 
Virtues  like  these,  attested  by  voices  on  all  sides,  and  by  the 
j)ubli<;   i)ress   itself,  in   ever-repeated    proclamation,  can,  as 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  417 

little,  remain  unacknowledged  by  all,  as  the  air  remain  un- 
breathed  by  those  who  have  lungs,  or  the  light  unseen  by 
those  who  have  eyes. 

As  a  cyclic  historian,  scanning  the  whole  circle  of  Gen- 
eral Sibley's  career,  we  have  no  apology  to  make  for  say- 
ing things  which  a  false  conventionalism,  and  a  perverted 
taste,  and,  perhaps,  a  gangrened  envy,  would,  under  the  plea 
of  propriety,  postpone  till  the  man,  whose  adornment  they 
are,  lies  dumb,  deaf,  blind,  and  pulseless,  in  his  coffin.  The 
natural  modesty  of  their  possessor  may  shrink  —  if  his  eyes 
shall  happen  to  look  on  these  lines  —  from  their  public  men- 
tion, but  they  are  public  already,  as  the  man  himself,  and  the 
rights  of  those  who  have  found  his  favor  must  be  respected, 
and  claim  their  free  expression.  The  Delphic  oracle  did  not 
scruple  to  pronounce  Socrates  '■^the  wisest  of  men,''''  even  while 
yet  alive,  and  a  greater  than  Socrates  hastened  to  say  of  a  poor 
woman  whose  love  had  anointed  his  head,  ">S/te  hath  icrought  a 
good  work  on  me!  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  wherever  this  gospel  is 
preached  in  the  lohole  loorld,  that,  also,  which  this  woman  hath 
done,  shall  he  spoken  as  a  memorial  of  her.^^  So  far  as  the 
power  of  example  goes,  good  deeds,  uncelebrated,  are  as  if 
never  performed,  even  as  valor,  unknown,  differs  in  nothing 
from  cowardice  fast  asleep  in  the  grave.  We  honor  ourselves 
more,  and  set  a  better  example,  and  display  a  better  character, 
by  the  absence  of  envy,  and  presence  of  grateful  tribute  to 
the  living,  for  the  noble  deeds  they  have  done,  and  what  they 
have  been,  and  are,  than,  by  meanly  pleading  "propriety," 
steal  from  a  man  his  right  to  the  praise  of  his  fellows,  before 
Death  has  called  for  his  shroud.  General  Sibley  has  con- 
quered a  large  place  in  the  hearts  of  Minnesotians,  who  have 
not  been  slow  to  let  it  be  known,  and,  for  a  historian  to  with- 
hold the  "reason  why,"  would  be  a  crime  against  manliness, 
justice,  conscience,  and  honor,  and  a  forfeiture  of  the  decent 
respect  of  the  world.  To  say  that  he  who  is  justly  styled  the 
*' First  Citizen  of  Minnesota,"  and  honored  with  so  many 
marks  of  distinction,  and  bearing  a  character  so  unblemished 
and  good,  has  been,  or  is,  without  the  infirmities  and  faults 
that  belong  to  a  human  sinner,  or  even  to  a  saint,  is  to  belie 
the  history  of  mankind,  and  contradict  the  word  that  speaks 
♦  from  above. 


418  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

True  virtue  still  some  faults  must  own, 
The  best  of  men  besetting  ; 
But  mercy  to  such  souls  is  shown, 
Their  faults  and  sins  regretting. 

The  faultless  saint  is  but  a  myth, 
Himself,  not  me,  deceiving  ; 
While  he  who  rests,  alone,  in  faith, 
His  blest  reward's  receiving. 

In  a  closing  chapter,  it  is  only  proper  that  a  word  should 
be  spoken  in  reference  to  the  Jioyne  of  General  Sibley,  and  in 
doing  so  it  will  not  be  deemed  inappropriate  to  revert,  a  mo- 
ment, to  his  first  residence  at  Mendota,  notwithstanding  brief 
allusion  to  this  has  already  been  made.  Midway  between  St. 
Paul  and  Minneapolis,  couching  in  a  natural  amphitheatre  of 
rare  beauty,  over  which  the  hills,  two  hundred  feet  high, 
stand  guard,  and  commanding  an  entrancing  view  of  the  "meet- 
ing of  the  waters,"  the  Minnesota  winding  in  on  the  left  and 
the  Mississippi  flowing  in  on  the  right,  stands,  in  "Mendota," 
the  old  ruin  of  the  house  where  General  Sibley  first  made  his 
proper  home.  An  ordinary  stone  hotel,  a  Catholic  church, 
a  cemetery  adjoining,  a  school  house,  a  post  ofBce,  one  or 
two  country  stores,  railroad  tracks,  and  a  few  stragglers  in 
the  streets,  are  its  present  accompaniments,  the  features  of 
the  spot  Mr.  Douglas  desired  to  make  the  capital  of  Minne- 
sota. The  house  we  speak  of  is  stone,  and  erected  by  Mr. 
Sibley  in  1836,  a  building  of  plain  but  substantial  character, 
two  stories  high,  with  a  portico  in  front,  entered  not  only 
from  front  and  rear,  but  also  by  a  flight  of  steps  ascend- 
ing outside  to  a  small  square  gallery  connecting  with  the  sec- 
ond story,  the  whole  inclosed  in  a  garden  surrounded  by  a 
picket  fence  afterward  replaced  by  one  more  neat  and  costly. 
The  main  room  on  the  ground  floor,  first  of  all,  was  the  busi- 
ness ofiice  of  Mr.  Sibley,  where  traders  and  Indians  gathered 
to  transact  their  affairs,  and  in  which  stood  a  business  desk, 
chairs,  benches,  book-shelves  freighted  with  books,  and  papers 
of  all  descriptions.  To  these  was  added  a  safe, —  the  first  ever 
made  in  the  region  before  it  became  a  territory, —  constructed 
of  solid  oak  ])lank  two  and  a  half  inches  thick,  unpainted, 
bound  with  iron  hai'S,  and  studded  witli  huge  nails,  the  door  of 
the  safe  swinging  on  iron  hinges  weighing  at  least  ten  pounds^ 
—  a  marvel  o  security  for  those  days.  Distant  from  the 
house,   three  hundred  feet,  stood  the  barn,  where  six  fine 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  419 

horses,  a  large  elk,  and  favorite  cattle,  enjoyed  a  shelter  in 
the  winter  time.  Near  the  barn  stood  the  capacious  dog- 
house, divided  into  compartments  to  keep  the  pugnacious  by 
themselves,  the  whole  pack,  soon  as  Mr.  Sibley  appeared  in 
the  morniag,  with  his  rifle  on  his  shoulder,  and  bugle  at  his 
lips,  setting  up  such  a  '^ concert  of  sweet  sounds" — each  dog 
with  peculiar  howl,  or  high-keyed  note  — as  made  the  hills  vo- 
cal with  the  echoes  of  their  canine  music.  The  business  office, 
at  length,  as  the  life  of  the  bachelor  gave  way  to  one  more 
blissful,  became  a  parlor  whose  floor  was  covered  with  a  body 
Brussels  carpet,  on  which  stood  a  piano,  the  first  one  brought 
to  this  region,  a  huge  Canada  stove  capable  of  holding  uusplit 
wood  of  half  a  cord's  length,^  sofas,  arm  chairs,  and  other 
furniture  of  good  quality,  and  pictures  of  various  kinds  adorn- 
ing the  walls.  On  the  first  floor,  also,  was  the  hall  and  the 
dining  room,  three  bedrooms  occupying  the  space  in  the  sec- 
ond story.  Two  additions  to  the  house,  one  for  a  bedroom, 
and  one  for  an  office,  completed  the  domestic  premises.  Such 
was  the  hospitable  mansion  of  the  noble  pioneer,  the  spot 
where  so  many  distinguished  men  found  a  temporary  sojourn 
during  their  explorations,  and  whose  first  tenant,  next  to  Mr. 
Sibley,  was  the  celebrated  Captain  Marryatt.  Here  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Sibley  passed  the  earlier  days  of  their  married  life. 
Here  the  venerable  Mrs.  Steele,  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Sibley, 
and  her  daughter  Mary  Steele  found  a  home.  Here  Mrs.  Ab- 
bie  A.  Potts  and  Mrs.  Eachel  Johnson  were  united  in  wed- 
lock, and  saw  the  happiest  days  it  has  been  their  earthly  lot 
to  know.  Everything  was  plain,  neat,  solid,  comfortable,  in- 
expensive, and  crowned,  as  to  social  life,  with  amusements, 
incidents,  and  events,  sometimes  comic  to  the  last  degree, 
sometimes  painful  as  death  stole  away  the  babe  from  its  moth- 
er's arms, —  experiences  not  soon  to  be  forgotten.  To  him 
who  visits  Mendota,  now,  and,  filled  with  the  recollection  of 
the  past,  gazes  on  the  ruin  of  the  old  home,  which  — could  its 
broken  walls,  dilapidated  rooms,  and  desolated  garden,  find  a 


1  About  fifty  years  ago,  General  H.  H.  Sibley  brought  to  this  country  a  large  Canada 
stove  which  has  been  in  constant  use  every  winter  since  he  purchased  it, — -save  a  few  years 
past.  It  warmed  him  when  a  young  bachelor.  It  warmed  both  him  and  his  young  wife. 
His  children  were  born  and  reared  around  it,  and  his  grandchildren  have  played  and  prat- 
tled about  it.  It  has  been  a  faithful  friend  and  is  about  as  good  to-day  as  it  was  when  he 
first  brought  it  to  the  territory,  but  the  styles  have  changed  and  this  venerable  stove,  al- 
though only  in  the  prime  of  its  usefulness,  has  had  to  give  way  to  a  new  pattern, —  not  so 
good  but  more  sightly.  As  a  relic  of  the  past  it  is  now  stored  away  in  the  attic,  surrounded 
by  the  pleasant  memories  of  a  half-century. — St.  Paul  Dispatch,  1882. 


420  ANCESTKY,  LIFE,   AND   TIMES   OF 

tongue  —  would  tell  of  happier  days  and  brighter  scenes,  for- 
ever gone,  the  contemplation  can  only  be  that  of  sadness,  if 
not  of  tears. 

But  there  are  compensations  for  the  changes  Time  creates. 
On  Woodward  avenue,  one  of  the  broad  promenades  of  the  city 
of  St.  Paul,  laid  out  in  what  was  once  the  finest  part  of  the 
city,  and,  now,  not  far  from  Lafayette  Park,  stands  the  present 
residence  of  General  Sibley.  The  location  enjoys  all  the  ad- 
vantages of  both  country  and  city,  not  only  convenient  to  the 
thoroughfares  of  business,  but  attractive  by  its  surroundings 
composed  of  substantial  houses  placed  in  the  centre  of  lawns 
extensive  and  kept  with  scrupulous  care,  adorned  with  majes- 
tic trees  and  various  flowers,  i^resenting  a  scene  of  calm  and 
quiet  beauty.  The  homes  of  the  denizens  of  this  locality  be- 
speak, for  their  owners,  the  possession  of  wealth,  refinement, 
and  taste,  and  the  comforts  of  life.  On  the  upper  side  of  the 
avenue  is  the  fine  mansion  of  General  Sibley,  massive  and 
solid,  quadrangular  form,  two  stories  high,  surmounted  by  a 
cupola,  and  described  as  "the  result  of  an  evolution  from  the 
original  shanty  which  he  saw  erected  on  the  present  site  of  the 
city,  and,  like  himself,  the  perfected  development  of  an  origi- 
nal product  which,  at  first,  was  planted  in  the  crude  soil  of  a 
savage  wilderness."^  The  ground  on  which  it  rests  has  a 
frontage  of  three  hundred  and  thirty-three  feet,  running  back 
two  hundred  and  twenty  feet,  the  whole  beautified  with  the 
waving  foliage  of  the  oak,  the  maple,  and  the  box-elder,  rows 
of  magnificent  and  stately  elms  lining  the  sidewalk,  distant 
from  which  the  mansion  stands  nearly  one  hundred  feet,  em- 
bowered within  the  arbored  ground,  and  accessible  by  paved 
and  graveled  walks.  The  interior  of  the  mansion,  with  its 
high  ceilings,  large  doors,  broad  staircase,  lieavy  rails,  elabo- 
rate chandeliers,  frescoes,  and  fine  tapestry,  reminds  one  of 
the  grandeur  of  baronial  times,  where  all  was  simple  as  solid, 
and  taste  was  without  the  glare  of  a  tinseled  and  tawdry  orna- 
mentation, and  comfort  without  the  expense  of  a  vain  and 
worthless  luxuiy.  There  is  nothing  to  pamper  the  extrava- 
gance of  a  millionaire.  There  is  everything  to  satisfy  the  de- 
sire of  a  man  well-to-do,  and  not  ambitious  of  vain  display. 
The  furniture  is  of  the  most  substantial  kind,  and  the  decora- 
tions, while,  of  necessity,  many,  are  yet  chaste,  elegant,  and 
appropriate. 

1  Chicago  Times,  .Jan.  30, 1886. 


HON.  HEXRY   HASTINGS   SIBLEY,  LL.D.  421 

To  tlie  left  of  the  uiaiu  hall,  below,  is  the  sitting  room, 
where,  during  the  afternoons  and  evenings  of  the  day, — his 
business  hours,  at  his  office  in  the  Globe  building,  ending  at 
1:30  p.  M., — the  General  is  found,  first  indulging,  as  the  state 
of  his  health  and  fatigue  require,  a  brief  post-prandial  nap, 
and  next,  after  the  time  for  sujiper  has  passed,  improving  the 
hours,  by  reading  the  various  papers  of  the  day,  writing  his 
private  correspondence,  receiving  his  friends,  or  enjoying  the 
society  of  his  family.  At  the  far  side  of  the  room,  having 
passed  the  piano  and  centre-table,  and  under  the  corner  gas- 
light, his  open  cabinet  filled  with  books,  and  letters,  and  files 
of  papers,  and  standing  against  the  wall,  is  placed  a  capacious 
chair,  well  cushioned  and  strong,  in  which  the  General,  seated 
at  ease,  golden  spectacles  adjusted  in  proper  position,  news- 
paper lifted  and  held  at  the  right  distance,  his  tall  form 
stretched  to  the  footstool,  and  the  light  blazing,  devours  the 
latest  intelligence,  near  and  remote,  and  posts  himself  in  refer- 
ence to  the  commercial,  civil,  political,  religious,  and  military 
condition  of  the  world.  His  encyclopaedic  appetite  for  knowl- 
edge, even  at  seventy-eight  years,  remains  unimpaired  by 
dyspeptic  ailment,  and  his  intellectual  digestion  is  as  perfect 
as  when  in  the  prime  of  life.  It  is  his  special  pleasure,  also, 
to  recite  to  his  friends,  the  scenes  of  by-gone  days,  the  hard- 
ships and  toils,  the  dangers  and  delights,  and  duties  and  re- 
sponsibilities of  his  long  career;  his  fur  trade  experience,  his 
Indian  life,  his  effbrts  for  the  church  and  the  school,  and  the 
later  events  connected  with  the  organization  of  the  Territory 
and  State  of  Minnesota.  On  the  wall,  in  front  of  where  he 
sits,  hangs  the  splendid  oil  painting  of  his  favorite  hunting 
dog,  "Lion,"  in  a  frame  7  feet  long  by  5  wide,  displaying  the 
life  size  of  the  noble  animal  5  feet  3  inches  in  length,  and  2 
feet  8  inches  in  height,  the  pointer  in  posture  ready  to  leap 
for  the  prey.  '■^ Noble  animal  he  loas,^^  says  the  General,  with 
a  tone  of  affectionate  sadness,  a  smile  of  satisfaction,  and  a 
gaze  steady  and  intense,  at  the  grand  object  on  the  wall. 
Behind  the  large  chair  hangs  another  oil  painting,  that  of 
"Mendota  in  1836,"  with  its  few  lone  hamlets,  plumed  In- 
dian in  the  foreground,  the  high  bluffs,  behind  Mendota,  over- 
looking the  Mississippi  and  Fort  Snelling.  Xext  to  that  is  a 
large  photograph  of  the  "Old  Settlers  Association,"  in  which 
the  early  and  representative  men  of  Minnesota  are  seen.  On 
the  other  walls  of  the  sitting  room  are  hung  two  splendid  en- 


422  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES   OF 

gravicgs  of  the  United  States  Senate,  in  1850,  the  one  repre- 
senting Daniel  Webster,  the  other  Henry  Clay,  addressing 
that  remarkable  body  of  men,  on  the  "Compromise  measures" 
of  that  agitated  time.     In  the  background  of  the  first,  and 
standing  near  Winthrop,  the  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley's  tall  figure 
appears.     Also  two  fine  engravings  from  London,   one  the 
''English  Gamekeeper,"  the  other  the  "Scotch  Gamekeeper," 
attended  by  their  dogs,  and  bearing  their  game.     An  engrav- 
ing of  "Shakespeare  and  his  friends,"  an  engraving  and  crayon 
of  Commodore  Kittson,  a  crayon  of  his  sou  Alfred,  and  near 
to  these,  arranged  in  order,  fine  photographs  of  his  son  Fred- 
.  erick,  Major  Generals  Halleck,   Hancock,  Fremont,  Curtis, 
and  Johnson,  Senator  Douglas,  Mrs.  Steele  the  mother  of  Mrs. 
Sibley,  the  reverend  Drs.  James  McCosh,  Francis  L.  Patton, 
and  Professors  Young  and  Sloane  of  Princeton  College,  an  en- 
graving of  Mr.  Josiah  Sibley  of  Augusta,  Georgia,  also  two 
engravings  of  himself,  one  in  civil  dress,  when  in  Congress, 
and  one  in  the  military  costume  of  a  general, —  these,  with 
other  minor  decorations,  and  a  pen  and  ink  sketch  of  the  "Old 
Mendota  Home,"  complete  the  artistic  embellishments  of  this 
domestic  and  quiet  room.     As  the  hours  pass  on,  his  serene 
engrossment  with  the  newspaper,  or  the  volume,  is  sometimes 
interrupted  by  the  agreeable  and  teasing  importunities  of  Mrs. 
Potts,  or  some  members  of  the  family,  beseeching  him  to  please 
be  more  attentive  to  themselves  and  less  devoted  to  the  printer! 
On  the  right  side  of  the  main  hall  is  the  capacious  and  well-fur- 
nished parlor,  on  whose  tables  are  placed  various  Indian  relics, 
and  whose  walls  are  made  instructive  with  oil  and  water  pic- 
tures of  the  choicest  quality.     Among  these  are  a  large  eques- 
trian oil  painting  of  General  Sibley  reviewing  his  troops,  and 
painted,  in  1878,  by  Colonel  Fairmaii,  a  woodland  painting  of 
rare  excellence,  by  Larpenteur,  with  browsing  cattle  near  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi,  the  celebrated  j^ainting  of  "Othello 
and  Desdemona,"  the  "Magdalen,"  "Les  Preludes  de  Bach," 
"Le  GynCce,"  and  two  fine  large  crayons,  one  of  the  General, 
the  other  of  Mrs.  Sibh^y.     On  the  tables  are  statuettes  in  Par- 
ian marble,  and  otlu^r  oi-namental  figures,  all  whi(;h,  with  the 
various   hangings,   and   large   jjhi-iits,   stationed   in   different 
places,  give  to  the  parlor  a  finished  and  pleasing  appearance. 
Next  to  llie  sitting  room  is  tlie  library,   whore  shelves  are 
packc^d  with  liundi'iMlsof  vohinies,  encyclopa'dias,  oflicial  docu- 
ments, state  and  congressional  papers,  works  on  treaties  and 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,    LL.D.  423 

constitutional  law,  law  books,  histories,  biographies,  the  poets, 
and,  in  short,  all  that  goes  to  make  up  the  library  of  a  man  of 
letters,  or  an  accomplished  servant  of  the  state  and  nation. 

And,  here,  in  this  home  of  neatness  and  comfort,  he  lives, 
and  makes  welcome  his  friends  and  his  guests,  the  receiver  of 
visits,  at  times,  from  men  of  distinction,  who,  journeying  west- 
ward, or  eastward,  tarry  a  moment  to  call  and  salute  ^'the 
man  of  the  state."  To  see  him,  in  private  life,  one  would 
scarce  take  him  to  be  the  Indian  hunter  of  fifty  years  ago. 
There  is  not  a  line  of  the  rough,  the  rude,  or  the  coarse, 
about  him.  His  benevolent  face,  and  pleasing  expression,  his 
generous  disposition,  refined  manners,  with  great  firmness  of 
will,  while  yet  obliging,  sociable,  kind,  alike  attract  and  im- 
press. No  man  would  dare  to  be  unduly  familiar  or  impolite. 
And  yet,  his  spirits  are  buoyant  and  sometimes  playful, 
though  changing  again  to  the  solemn  and  serious  side  of  life. 
He  is  mindful  of  what  is  due,  not  only  to  personal  respect, 
but  to  the  ties  of  blood,  the  habits  of  friendship,  and  the 
obligations  imposed  by  attentions  of  others, —  confining  his 
visits,  however,  in  later  years,  to  the  narrower  circle  of  long- 
cherished  and  older  friends.  None  can  enjoy  his  society  and 
not  feel  that  he  deserves  a  tribute  in  measure  greater  than  yet 
has  appeared;  —  a  man  so  free  from  the  airs  of  the  mere  pre- 
tender, and  the  style  of  a  money  king!  He  is  no  traitor  to 
men,  no  betrayer  of  his  friends,  no  selfish  calculator  at  the 
expense  of  others'  convenience.  With  the  slanderer  and  con- 
spirator he  has  no  fellowship.  True,  helpful,  and  just,  he  is 
the  pride  of  his  house,  and  moves  among  men,  a  soul  of 
honor,  disdaining  a  deed  of  reproach,  and  preferring  exile  or 
death  to  shame.  His  hospitality  is  ever  the  same  that  it  was 
in  his  youth,  and  peace,  contentment,  and  plenty,  bless  his 
pillow  and  board. 

Such,  in  his  waning  years,  is  the  present  home,  and  life,  of 
the  man  who,  more  than  half  a  century  ago,  was  the  adventur- 
ous youth,  trader,  and  hunter,  in  the  wilds  of  Minnesota. 
"While  others  have  labored  to  amass  vast  fortunes,  and  devoted 
their  lives  to  mere  material  pursuits,  or,  by  political  fortune, 
or  commercial  land  speculation,  have  acquired  great  wealth, 
he  has  desired  a  higher  and  nobler  aim,  and,  contenting  him- 
self with  the  golden  mean. 


424  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

"  Escapes  alike  from  all 

The  squalor  of  a  sordid  cot, 
And  from  the  jealousies  begot 
By  wealth  in  lordly  hall." 
Like  the  laureate  of  Augustus,  turning  away  from  the  splen- 
dors of  a  court,  and  the  miser  grasp  of  men  who  live  but  to 
amass  their  wealth  and  lavish  it  on  homes  built  of  costliest 
stone,  adorned  with  rarest  wood,  and  furnishings  from  every 
land  and  sea,  unmindful  of  their  fate,  he  too  can  say, 

"Within  my  dwelling  you  behold 
Nor  ivory  nor  roof  of  gold ; 
There,  no  Hymettian  rafters  weigh 
On  columns  sent  from  Africa; 
Nor  Attains'  imperial  chair 
Have  I  usurped,  a  spurious  heir. 
*  •*  *  *  * 

"But  a  true  heart,  and  genial  vein 

Of  wit  are  mine,  and  rich  men  deign, 

Such  as  I  am,  to  seek  my  door. 

For  nought  beyond  do  I  implore. 

Than  this,  nor  crave  my  potent  friend 

A  larger  bounty  to  extend. 

***** 

"Day  treads  on  day,  and  sinks  amain, 
And  new  moons  only  wax  and  wane, 
Yet  7nen,  upon  death's  very  brink. 
Of  piling  marbles  only  think, 
Which  yet  are  in  the  quarry's  womb, 
And, —  all  unmindftd  of  the  tomb, 
Rear  gorgeous  mansions  everywhere, 
As  though  the  earth  too  bounded  were!"^ 

Such,  the  pleasant  and  comfortable  home,  and  such,  the  quiet 
and  calm  philosophy  of  him  who,  in  his  early  days,  was  the 
Nimrod  of  his  time,  the  owner  of  six  splendid  horses,  twenty- 
three  of  the  finest  dogs  in  all  the  region,  six  double-barreled 
shot-guns,  three  rifles,  besides  his  holster-pistols,  with  which 
he  commanded  the  respect  of  the  savages,  amused  himself  in 
the  intervals  between  the  seasons  of  active  business,  and  won 
for  himself  a  name  that  made  him  the  fit  leader  of  the  expedi- 
tions against  the  Sioux,  in  the  years  of  1802  and  1863.  It  is 
only  right  that  the  close  of  a  career,  so  full  of  wonder  as  his, 
should  l)riiig  the  reward  of  all  these  temporal  benedictions; 
especially  to  one  who  now,  as  ever,  is  prodigal  of  that  same 
hospitality  which  endeared  him  to  all  who  came  in  contact 
with  him. 


1  Horace,  Odes,  Lib.  J  I.,  Ode  XVIII. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  425 

Nor  is  the  "Sibley  mansion"  the  only  spot  where  his 
name  is  associated  with  the  scenes  and  times  of  his  event- 
ful life.  He  has  left  his  impress  on  the  geography  of  three 
diiferent  states,  and  in  more  than  one  municii)ality.  "Sib- 
ley's Indian  Homes,"  his  generous  gift  to  tempt  the  red 
man  to  a  better  future,  are  a  witness  to  his  character  and  in- 
fluence. From  section  27  to  section  37,  behind  Mendota,  is 
"Augusta  lake,"  so  called  in  honor  of  his  eldest  daughter. 
By  unanimous  consent  of  the  original  proprietors,  what  now 
is  "Hastings  City"  derived  its  name  from  Henry  Hastings 
Sibley.  The  city  council  of  St.  Paul  have  named  their  "  Sib- 
ley street."  "Sibley  lake,"  "  Sibley  crossing,"  and  "Sibley 
island,"  in  Dakota  and  on  the  Missouri  river,  were  dedicated 
such,  as  a  consequence  of  the  Sioux  campaign  of  1863;  and  in 
the  State  of  Iowa,  the  town  of  "Sibley"  has  just  been  chris- 
tened to  perpetuate  his  fame.  Still  other  tokens  of  esteem  are 
in  the  future,  not  the  least  of  which  will  be  the  "Sibley  monu- 
ment." A  coming  generation  will  be  just.  Had  Fortune 
given  him  the  vast  wealth  other  men  have,  the  city  of  St. 
Paul,  ere  this,  had  been  debtor  to  his  generous  hand  for  some 
proud  and  enduring  memorial,  built  for  the  good  of  his  fel- 
low man,  or  some  magnificent  donation,  like  that  of  his  friend 
Pillsbury,  to  the  State  University. 

An  early  riser,  impatient  for  the  duties  of  the  day,  and 
burdened  with  a  multitude  of  cares,  he  takes  his  morning 
meal  and  hastens  to  his  work.  He  dreads  inaction.  On  the 
ground  floor  of  the  east  side  of  the  Globe  building  is  the 
place  in  which  he  transacts  his  business.  A  modest  room,  it 
is  yet  interesting  in  various  respects.  One  entering,  during 
the  hours  of  business,  will  find  the  General,  gold  spectacles 
on,  seated  in  front  of  his  large  desk,  crowded  with  papers 
and  letters,  and  files,  busy  at  work.  On  the  top  of  the  desk, 
rests  the  Princeton  diploma.  To  the  right,  and  high  on  the 
wall,  hangs  a  splendid  oil  portrait  of  the  charming  daugh- 
ter of  Mrs.  S.  McKuight,  a  chef  iVceuvre  de  beaute,  painted  by 
her  mother,  one  of  the  most  accomplished  women  and  artists 
of  the  day.  Contrasted  with  this,  on  the  wall  at  the  left  of 
the  desk,  hangs  the  large  crayon  of  "OM  Bets,''''  a  character 
well  known,  an  Indian  captive  redeemed  by  General  Sibley 
from  the  grasp  of  Little  Crow.  Two  large  pictures,  one  the 
"Execution  of  the  Thirty-eight  Indians,  the  other  "Presi- 
dent Cleveland  and  His  Cabinet,"  beside  a  water-color  of  a 


426  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND  TIMES  OF 

"Sioux  Scalping  a  Chippewa,"  serve  also  to  vary  the  decora- 
tion. A  facsimile  of  the  last  trembling  signature  of  the  dy- 
ing German  emperor,  William,  the  photographs  of  two  Indi- 
ans, "Medicine  Bottom"  and  "Shakopee,"  with  the  latest 
steel  engraving  of  himself,  sum  up  the  ornaments  of  this  last 
laboratory  of  the  Prince  of  Pioneers.  Conducted  to  this 
spot,  every  morning,  save  Sunday,  he  performs  the  duties 
that  call  for  his  presence.  In  his  modest  vehicle  behind  his 
old  but  grand  "white  horse," — an  object  of  attraction  to  the 
city, — his  faithful  "John,"  a  Swede  devoted  to  his  master, 
drives  him  daily  to  the  office,  and  shortly  after  the  meridian, 
returns  him  to  his  mansion.  And  thus,  day  follows  day,  in 
swift  succession,  the  years  revolving,  and  hastening,  to  its 
last  and  narrow  house,  the  form  now  beginning  to  bend  with 
age,  and  soon  to  be  removed  from  the  land  of  the  living. 

''^Nos,  noslraque,  debemur  mortV^ 

is  written  on  all  sublunary  things,  and  on  the  loftiest  of  men. 

"  Down  to  the  tomb 
Your  heads  must  come! 
Only  the  actions  of  the  just 
Smell  sweet,  and  blossom  in  the  dust!  " 

The  death  of  Mrs.  Sibley,  May  21,  1869,  due  chiefly  to  the 
double  bereavement  suffered  by  the  loss  of  two  of  her  chil- 
dren, during  the  absence  of  her  husband  when  leading  the  ex- 
pedition against  the  Sioux  Indians  in  1863,  bore  heavily  upon 
the  General.  In  addition  to  the  loss  of  five  children,  the 
loved  mother  of  them  all  had  been  removed,  lamented  by  a 
large  circle  of  sorrowing  friends.  The  entire  family  register 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  General  Sibley  is,  in  its  order,  (1)  Augusta 
(Mrs.  Captain  Douglas  Pope),  (2)  Henry  Hastings,  who  died 
in  infancy,  (3)  Henry  Hastings,  again,  who  died  in  infancy, 
— the  Power  who  rules  all  things  seeming  to  deny  the  father's 
name  to  any  living  son,  (4)  Sarah  Jane  (Mrs.  Elbert  A. 
Young),  (5)  Franklin  Steele,  deceased,  (6)  Mary  Steele,  de- 
ceased; — these  last  two,  the  children  who  died  while  their 
father  was  in  the  field  fighting  the  Sioux,  and  so  touch- 
iiigly  bewailed  as  '■'■  Liltle  Mamie''  and  ^^ Dear  Frank''  in  his 
military  diary, — (7)  Alexander,  deceased,  (8)  Charles  Fred- 
erick, (9)  Alfred  IJrush;  nine  cliildren  in  all,  four  still  sur- 
viving; two  (laMglit(;rs,  Mrs.  Douglas  Pope,  and  Mrs.  Elbert 
A.  Young;   two  sons,  Charles  Frederick  and  Alfred  Brush. 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  427 

The  children  of  Mrs.  Pope  are  Alice,  Augusta,  aud  Elsie. 
Those  of  Mrs.  Young  are  Henry  Sibley,  Cornelia,  and  Elbert 
A.  The  surviving  sisters  of  Mrs.  Sibley  are  Mrs.  Dr.  Potts^ 
and  Mrs.  General  Johnson,  ^  named  before.  The  children  of 
Mrs.  Potts  are  Mary  Steele  (Mrs.  Crawford  Livingston),  Henry 
Sibley  Potts,  John  Charles  Potts,  Abbie  (Mrs.  Charles  Mcln- 
tyre).  The  children  of  Mrs.  Livingston  are  Crawford,  Mary 
Steele,  Abbie  Potts,  Henry  Sibley,  Gerald.  The  children  of 
Mrs.  Mclntyre  are  Alice,  Charles,  and  Helen,  one,  the  eldest, 
William,  having  died  in  infancy.  The  children  of  Mrs.  John- 
son are  Lieutenant  Alfred  B.,  United  States  Army,  Ei chard 
W.,  medical  department  United  States  Army,  and  Henry  Sib- 
ley. The  children  of  Lieutenant  Alfred  B.  Johnson  are  Kitty 
Smyth  Johnson  and  Eachel  Louise  Johnson.  Of  the  family  of 
Dr.  John  Steele  of  St.  Paul,  deceased, —  one  of  the  brothers 
of  Mrs.  Potts  and  Mrs.  Johnson, —  three  still  survive,  Charles 
Steele  (married  Fanny  Dawson),  Jane  R.  Steele  (Mrs.  Dr.  E. 
J.  Abbott),  and  Clara  Steele  (Mrs.  George  Dufi&eld  Slayma- 
ker).  The  one  child  of  Mrs.  Charles  Steele  is  named  for  his 
father,  Charles.  The  children  of  Mrs.  Dr.  E.  J.  Abbott  are 
Catherine,  John,  Lorina,  Rachel,  and  Theodore.^  The  imme- 
diate household  of  General  Sibley  is  composed  of  his  eldest 
daughter  Mrs.  Douglas  Pope  and  her  three  daughters,  Alice, 


1  Dr.  Thomas  R.  Potts  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  1810;  graduated  from  the  Uuiversity 
of  Pennsylvania,  1831 ;  resided  at  Natchez,  Mississippi,  1831-1841;  removed  to  Galena,  Illi- 
nois, 1841 ;  came  to  St.  Paul,  1849  ;  lived  in  St.  Paul  twenty-six  years,  being  surgeon  at  Fort 
Snelling,  medical  purveyor  of  the  district,  physician  to  the  Sioux;  in  1850,  president  of  the 
town  board;  in  1866,  city  physician  ;  health  officer  in  1873;  married  to  Abbie  A.  Steele  in 
1847;  died  in  St.  Paul,  1874,  age  sixty-four  years.  Dr.  Potts  was,  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
the  oldest  practicing  physician  in  the  State  of  Minnesota,  and  one  of  the  most  distinguished, 
"  an  institution  "  of  himself,  of  fine  personal  presence,  social,  kind-hearted,  and  greatly  re- 
spected. 

2  Brevet  Major  General  R.  W.  Johnson  was  born  in  Livingston  county,  Kentucky,  1827  ; 
graduated  at  United  States  Military  Academy,  West  Point,  and  reported  for  duty  at  Fort 
Snelling,  1S49;  second  lieutenant  First  Infantry,  Fort  Duncan,  Texas,  1850 ;  adjutant  Sec- 
ond Infantrj^l853;  first  lieutenant  Second  Cavalry,  1855  ;  captain  Company  "  F,"  1856;  es- 
caped, when  the  Civil  War  broke  out,  from  Texas,  and  reported  at  Carlisle  Barracks,  Penn- 
sylvania, 1861  ;  lieutenant  colonel  Third  Kentucky  Cavalry,  colonel  United  States  Army  and 
brigadier  general  Volunteers,  1861 ;  brevet  major  general  United  States  Volunteers,  1865.  He 
served  gallantly  in  the  Siege  of  Corinth,  pursuit  of  Morgan,  battles  of  Stone  River,  Liberty 
Gap,  Chicamauga,  Missionary  Ridge,  aud  in  the  campaign  against  Atlanta.  After  the  Civil 
War  was  provost  marshal  of  the  military  division  of  the  Mississippi,  then  judge  advocate 
of  the  same,  and  of  the  department  of  the  Cumberland,  and  on  account  of  wounds,  was 
placed  on  the  retired  list,  1867,  and  still  lives,  1889,  his  age  sixty-two  years,  hearty  and  hale, 
a  useful  and  active  citizen. 

3  The  Hon.  Franklin  Steele,  brother  of  Dr.  John  Steele,  Mrs.  Dr.  Potts,  and  Mrs.  Gen- 
eral  Johnson,  married  Annie  Barney  of  Baltimore.  Both  are  deceased.  The  family  regis- 
ter gives  the  children's  names  as  Mary  C,  Kate  O.,  Rosa  P.,  Franklin,  Jr.,  Fanny,  Sarah, 
Carrie,  William  E.;  eight  in  all. 


428  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

Augusta,  and  Elsie,  his  son,  Mr.  Alfred  B.  Sibley,  besides 
Mrs.  Dr.  Potts  and  her  son  Charles.  Surrounded  by  his  sur- 
viving children  and  grandchildren,  and  the  large  and  influ- 
ential relationship  just  named,  nephews,  nieces,  cousins,  and 
connections,  with  a  host  of  much  endeared  friends,  all  vieing 
with  each  other  to  minister,  the  most,  their  kindly  offices,  the 
"Patriarch  of  Three  Generations,"  and  "Prince  of  Minneso- 
ta's Pioneers,"  enjoys  the  evening  of  his  life,  nearing  the  ho- 
rizon line,  and,  though  setting  like  the  sun,  yet  lingering,  as  if 
to  leave  a  blessing,  throwing  back,  on  all  beholders,  the  rays 
of  his  departing  light. 

In  retiring  from  the  task  we  began, — viz.,  to  trace  in  out- 
line, the  ^^ Ancestry,  Life,  and  Times ^^  of  the  Hon.  Henry  Has- 
tings Sibley, — a  sense  of  wonder,  and  sometimes  of  sadness 
and  awe,  steals  over  us,  as  the  concentration  of  the  whole  pan- 
orama seems,  for  a  moment,  to  converge  from  all  sides,  and 
present  itself  to  us  in  one  compacted  picture.  The  Norman 
Conquest:  the  Middle  Ages;  the  wars  of  the  houses  of  York 
and  Lancaster;  the  times  of  the  Pilgrims  and  the  English 
Commonwealth;  the  Winthrop  Fleet  and  the  great  immigra- 
tion; the  Colonial  and  Eevolutionary  times;  the  settlement  of 
the  Northwest;  the  ordinance  of  1787;  the  advent  of  Solomon 
Sibley,  the  father  of  Henry,  to  Detroit;  the  birth  of  Henry; 
Sault  Ste.  Marie;  Mackinac  and  the  fur  trade;  the  partner- 
ship of  young  Sibley;  his  journey  to  Prairie  du  Chien,  and 
thence  to  the  "meeting  of  the  waters;"  his  Indian  life;  his 
congressional;  his  territorial  and  state  life;  his  military  life; 
his  life  as  a  private  citizen;  and  now,  still  living,  and  increas- 
ing in  his  years; — what  histories,  memories,  scenes,  events,  and 
changes,  not  only  pass  before  us,  but  crowd  themselves  into 
one  conception,  vivid,  oppressive,  and  overpowering !  Pass- 
ing away  and  coming,  coming  and  passing  away, — "one  gen- 
eration coming  and  another  going," — this  is  the  lawnof  prog- 
ress;— the  sons  of  Japhet  ordained  to  expansion,  a  forward 
march  and  extension,  the  savage  tribes  retreating,  and  the 
forests  falling,  before  them,  the  world's  conquest  their  ulti- 
mate prize! 

To  this  pioneer  race,  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  has  belonged, 
and  played  his  part  in  blazing  a  path  through  new  and  un- 
trodden wilds,  now  crowned  with  the  ('llh)rescence  of  a  mighty 
civilization.  The  cathedral  of  Milan  rises  from  the  ground, 
surrounded  at  its  base  by  rude  barbaric  figures,  its  roof  sur- 


HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  429 

mounted  with  6,000  pinnacles  on  which  stand  saints  and  an- 
gels, their  heads  sky-laucing  and  glittering  with  light,  the 
intermediate  architecture  showing  the  progress  from  Barbar- 
ism to  Civilization,  and  from  Civilization  to  Christianity.  It 
is  a  grand  poem  in  stone!  What  monument  should  not  the 
wealth  and  resources  of  a  state  like  Minnesota  rear  to  the 
memory  of  the  brave  pioneers,  among  whom  Henry  Hastings 
Sibley  stood,  and  stands,  the  first  and  the  tallest,  and  now 
survives  as  the  oldest  of  all?  What  device  better  than  some 
proud  pile  at  whose  base  the  Indian  and  mound,  the  wigwam 
and  bounding  buffalo,  and  elk,  and  deer,  shall  be  seen,  its  sum- 
mit crowned  with  twin  figures  of  the  two  great  cities  of  the 
state,  the  intermediate  construction  showing  the  upward  prog- 
ress from  savage  to  civilized  life, — Sibley  below  in  his  Indian 
attire,  Sibley  above  in  citizen's  dress, — a  half -century  scene,  th^ 
like  of  which  is  without  a  mate  in  the  world  !  Fifteen  years, 
in  the  solitude  of  a  pre-territorial  life,  he, — the  phosphor  of 
the  morning, — shed  his  beams  athwart  the  region  over  which 
the  rising  sun  of  civilization  had  not  yet  lifted  his  golden 
brow.  Fifteen  years, — much  of  the  time  in  Indian  costume, 
—  he  antedated  the  advent  of  the  men  whose  names  are  in- 
separably bound  with  the  actual  organization  of  the  Territory 
of  Minnesota.  He  passed  under  four  successive  territorial 
jurisdictions,  without  once  changing  his  residence  at  Men- 
dota !  On  the  territorial  seal,  devised  by  Governor  Eamsey 
and  General  Sibley,  are  displayed  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  in 
the  distance,  the  immigrant  plowing  the  border  of  the  Indian's 
land  and  looking  wistfully  beyond,  as  if  anxious  to  plow  still 
more,  the  Indian  amazed  at  the  sight  and  speeding  in  full 
flight  to  the  setting  sun!  And  General  Sibley  has  lived  to 
see  this  symbol,  and  all  it  implies,  translated  into  actual  fact. 
What  changes  since  1858,  when  Minnesota  was  admitted  as 
a  state!  What  greater  changes  since  1849,  when  Minnesota 
was  organized  as  a  territory!  And  what,  greatest  of  all,  since 
1834,  when  Henry  H.  Sibley  planted  his  feet  on  the  hills  be- 
hind Mendota! — "four  hamlets"  then  in  the  little  amphi- 
theatre, all  the  rest  a  wide  wilderness;  but  now  the  splendid 
cities  of  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis  seated  —  like  queens  with 
crowns  on  their  heads  —  on  places  young  Sibley  trod  as  his 
hunting  ground,  and  where  the  Indian  war-whoop  echoed 
through  the  trees! — then  only  a  "few  hundred  of  whites  in 
all  the  region,"  an  area  of  83,000  square  miles  and  56,000,000 
of  acres,  but,  now,  a  population  of  nearly  1,500,000  souls! 


430  ANCESTRY,  LIFE,  AND   TIMES   OF 

Let  him,  who  can,  compose  the  volume  that  shall  draw  the 
full  contrast  between  ^^Then^^  and  "JVb?(?  /"  Tu  eris  Marcellus! 
The  man  who  sees  the  cities  of  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis  sees 
two  mighty  wonders,  if  only  he  thinks  of  the  transformation. 
But  he  whose  fortune  it  is  to  look  on  General  Sibley,  sees  a 
mightier  wonder  still!  Wonderful  life,  of  a  wonderful  man! 
His  eyes  have  not  been  denied  the  vision  that  "wise  men, 
prophets,  and  kings,  desired  to  see,  but  died  without  the 
sight!"  In  that  prophetic  symbol,  apocalypsed  on  the  terri- 
torial seal,  his  inward  sense  foresaw  what  the  Hiawatha  of  the 
poet  sang: 

' '  All  the  secrets  of  the  futui'e, 
Of  the  distant  days  that  shall  be : 
And,  with  these,  the  westward  marches 
Of  the  unknown,  crowding  nations, 
All  the  land  so  full  of  people, 
Restless,  struggling,  toiling,  striving, 
Speaking  many  tongues,  yet  feeling 
But  one  heart-heat  in  their  bosom.  "^ 

It  is  time  to  say  '^Adieu!^^  When,  in  coming  years,  the 
just  tribute  of  admiration  shall  be  paid  to  the  pioneer,  the 
Indian  hunter,  the  legislator,  the  statesman,  the  orator,  the 
governor,  soldier,  husband,  father,  and  friend,  who  has  been 
the  subject  of  this  volume,  none  will  say  that  we  have  over- 
rated his  merits,  or  been  too  profuse  in  our  praise  of  his  vir- 
tues, or  too  minute  in  our  faint  memorial  of  his  services. 
Take  him  as  a  man,  survey  him  in  what  light  we  will,  accord 
to  others,  his  contemporaries,  the  full  meed  of  praise  due  to 
their  noble  deeds,  and  self-denying  toils,  to  help  redeem  a  wil- 
derness, and  found  a  state,  still  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  stands 
second  to  none  on  the  scroll  of  fame.  He  is  the  central  Jigure 
around  which  all  other  figures  group  themselves.  It  was  he 
who  gave,  in  1834,  the  first  impulse  of  real  value  to  all  com- 
mercial enterprises  of  the  region  which  even  then  was  with- 
out a  special  name.  It  was  he  who,  from  1849  to  1853,  gave 
again  a  fresh  impulse,  in  the  organization  of  the  territory, 
more  than  any  other  man,  and,  by  his  efforts  in  the  halls  of 
Congress,  put  it  on  its  path  to  a  swift  and  prosperous  state- 
hood. First  governor  of  the  state,  in  18r)8,  it  was  he  who,  in 
1862,  assumed  the  military  dress,  led  the  main  expedition 

1  Ix)iigf(;ll()w's  PoeiiiH.  Sons  "f  Hiiiwatlia,  The  White  Foot,  XXI.  For  the  curious  and 
IntercAting  »tory  of  Hiawatha,  or  Manabozho,  the  <ireat  Proi)het  of  the  Indian  tril)e8,— the 
prime  Ic-jtend  of  tlie  Indian  mythology,  eonsull  "The  Myth  of  Hiawatha,  and  other  Le- 
gendw,"  by  Henry  K.  Schoolcraft,  LL.D.    Philad.   Lippincott,  1856,  pp.  13-51,  189-193. 


HON.  HENEY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY,  LL.D.  431 

against  the  Sioux  Nation,  as  also  in  1863,  defeated  the  foe 
in  five  severe  engagements,  delivered  the  captives,  cleared 
the  state  of  its  enemy,  and  gave  security  to  the  homes,  and 
peace  to  the  citizens,  of  Minnesota.  It  was  his  tongue,  and 
his  pen,  his  soul,  and  his  unflinching  courage,  more  than 
those  of  any  other  man,  which  rescued  the  state  from  re- 
proach, and  her  countenance  from  shame.  What  he  accom- 
plished, and  what  he  attempted  to  do,  and  what,  by  example, 
he  still  is  doing, —  even  while  "the  golden  bowl  is  breaking, 
and  the  silver  cord  is  loosening,"  will  be  had  in  remembrance 
long  as  the  state  survives,  or  her  records  have  room  to  en- 
grave a  name.     Our  task  is  done. 

"  Firm,  incorrupt,  as  in  life's  dawning  morn, 
Nor  swayed  by  novelty,  nor  public  breath. 
False  censure  and  false  fame  he  hears,  to  scorn, 
And,  upright,  moves  through  Honor's  path  to  death. 

"His  name,  time-honored,  stands;  a  tower 
Impregnable,  a  bulwark  of  the  state. 
Untouched  by  Envy's  visionary  power, 
Rampired, — invulnerable, —  great!  " 


PERSONAL  ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 


In  taking  leave  of  the  literary  labor  to  which  I  have  been  called  in 
the  preparation  of  this  volume,  I  desire  to  express  my  gratefal  acknowl- 
edgments to  the  many  and  kind  courtesies  extended  to  me  by  Mr.  J. 
Fletcher  Williams,  the  accomplished  librarian  of  the  Minnesota  Historical 
Society,  as  also  to  his  very  obliging  assistant,  Mr.  J.  B.  Chayne.  The 
access  allowed  me  to  the  shelves  of  valuable  collections  in  the  state 
capitol,  and  to  bound  volumes  of  the  city  newspapers  for  years  past,  has 
contributed  much  to  secure,  in  many  instances,  the  needed  information. 
To  Mrs.  Helen  H.  McCaine,  librarian  of  the  City  Library,  thanks  are 
due,  as  also  to  her  assistants,  for  their  polite  and  prompt  response  to 
calls  many  times  made  upon  their  attention  and  time,  as  also  for  the 
privilege  of  access  to  the  shelves  of  that  institution.  To  the  Hon.  Charles 
E.  Flandrau,  Major  General  E.  W.  Johnson,  and  others  among  the  older 
citizens  of  St.  Paul,  I  am  indebted  for  important  instruction  in  reference 
to  certain  parts  of  the  preceding  narrative  relating  to  civil  and  military 
matters ;  as  I  am,  also,  in  larger  measure,  to  the  venerable  and  honor- 
able H.  H.  Sibley  himself.  Finally,  my  thanks  are  due  to  the  gentle- 
manly corps  of  librarians  of  the  Astor  Library,  New  York,  for  their  many 
accommodations  and  generous  supply  of  expensive  and  standard  works, 
needed  for  consultation  as  to  ancestral  lines,  and  ancient  facts,  in  Eng- 
lish history ;   works  not  yet  found  in  our  Western  cities. 

Nathaniel  West. 

St.  Paul,  September  1,  1889. 


APPENDIX. 


MAIDEN  SPEECH 

OP 

HON.   HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY   OF  WISCONSIN 
TERRITORY, 

BEFORE  THE   COMMITTEE   ON    ELECTIONS,    HOUSE    OF    REPRE- 
SENTATIVES.      DELIVERED    DECEMBER    22,    1848,    OPEN- 
ING  OF   SECOND   SESSION   THIRTIETH   CONGRESS. 

(See  pp.  103-111.) 

Mr.  Chairman:  Having  been  elected  by  the  people  of 
Wisconsin  Territory  to  represent  their  interests,  as  a  delegate 
in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  I  should  consider  myself 
as  recreant  to  the  trust  reposed  in  me  by  those  who  have  hon- 
ored me  with  their  confidence,  did  I  not  take  every' proper 
means  to  secure  my  seat,  and  be  thus  placed  in  a  position 
where  I  may  render  some  service  to  my  constituents.  No 
question  has  been,  or  can  be,  raised  with  regard  to  the  legal- 
ity of  the  election.  The  certificate  of  the  acting  governor  is 
prima  facie  evidence  of  the  fact.  It  remains,  then,  only  to 
show,  if  possible,  that  the  residuum  of  Wisconsin  Territory, 
after  the  admission  of  the  state,  remained  in  the  possession  of 
the  same  rights  and  immunities  which  were  secured  to  the 
people  of  the  whole  territory  by  the  organic  law.  In  doing 
this,  I  shall  be  as  brief  as  the  nature  of  the  case  will  admit; 
but,  being  convinced  that  a  favorable  report  from  your  hon- 
orable committee  is  vitally  important,  I  must  be  permitted  to 
present  all  the  facts  bearing  upon  the  case,  and  sustain,  by 
such  arguments  as  I  may,  based  upon  the  facts,  the  position 
assumed  by  those  who  sent  me  here. 

The  honorable  gentleman  from  North  Carolina  (Mr.  Boy- 
den),  at  your  previous  meeting,  attempted  to  show  that  the 
act  for  the  admission  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin  was,  ipso  facto, 
a  repeal  of  the  organic  law  of  the  territory.  To  support  this 
proposition,  he  supposed  a  case  in  which  all  the  population  of 


436  APPENDIX. 

a  territory  should  be  included  within  the  limits  of  a  state,  ex- 
cept a  few  individuals,  or  one  man,  who  might  elect  one  of 
their  number,  or  himself,  as  a  delegate  to  Congress,  and  be 
entitled  to  admission,  upon  the  principle  assumed  in  the  pres- 
ent case.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  might  meet  this  fairly  by  another 
supposition  by  no  means  so  improbable.  It  was  seriously  con- 
templated, by  a  respectable  portion  of  the  people,  to  ask  Con- 
gress to  make  the  Wisconsin  river  the  northern  boundary  of 
the  state  of  that  name.  If  this  had  been  done,  some  fifteen  or 
twenty  thousand  inhabitants  would  have  been  left  in  precisely 
the  same  situation  in  which  the  present  population  of  Wiscon- 
sin Territory  now  find  themselves.  Would  Congress  have 
refused,  under  such  circumstances,  to  receive  a  delegate  elect- 
ed by  the  people  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  organic 
law  ?  The  case  supposed  is  an  extreme  one.  Congress  has 
full  power  to  prevent  any  abuse  of  such  privileges.  But  when 
a  large  portion  of  a  territory  is  left  without  the  boundaries  of 
a  state,  and  no  provision  is  made  for  repealing  or  modifying 
the  organic  law,  does  not  that  very  fact,  taken  in  connection 
with  the  obligation  of  a  government  to  afford  to  all  its  citizens 
the  protection  of  law,  make  it  perfectly  clear  that  the  resid- 
uum remains  under  the  full  operation  of  the  same  organic 
law?  To  suppose  otherwise  would  be  to  maintain  that  a  gov- 
ernment has  the  right,  at  pleasure,  to  deprive  its  citizens  of 
all  civil  rights,  a  hypothesis  repugnant  to  the  spirit  of  our 
institutions  and  of  the  age. 

The  imprescriptible,  inalienable,  birthright  of  the  subject 
is  laid  down  as  one  of  the  national  rights  of  citizenship,  of 
wliich  none  can  be  deprived  without  their  consent.  {Payleifs 
Phil.,  B.  VI.,  chap.  3.  Judge  Iredell  in  Talcot  vs.  Janson,  3  Dall. 
Bep.  133.)  Vattell,  in  his  Law  of  Nations,  B.  1,  chap.  2,  thus 
lays  down  the  rule:  "If  a  nation  is  obliged  to  preserve  itself, 
it  is  no  less  obliged  carefully  to  preserve  all  its  members." 
And  again:  "The  body  of  a  nation  cannot,  then,  abandon  a 
province,  a  town,  or  even  a  single  individual  who  is  a  part  of 
it,  unless  compelled  to  do  it  by  necessity,  or  indispensably 
obliged  to  do  it,  for  the  strongest  reasons,  founded  on  the  pub- 
lic safety." 

Having  thus  shown  that  the  point  of  international  law,  as 
received  by  all  civilized  countries,  is  clearly  in  our  favor,  I 
will  merely  quote  a  paragraph  of  the  ordinance  of  1787,  as  ap- 
plicable to  the  country  northwest  of  the  Ohio  river.     This 


APPENDIX.  437 

guarantees  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  that  region  the  possession 
of  "the  benefits  of  habeas  corpm,  and  trial  by  jnry.  of  a  pro- 
portionate representation  in  the  legislature,  and  of  judicial 
proceedings,  according  to  the  course  of  the  common  law." 
We  are  a  part  and  parcel  of  the  people  to  whom  were  secured 
these  blessings,  and  a  decision  which  would  deprive  us  of  the 
right  to  be  represented  on  the  floor  of  Congress  would  virtu- 
ally annul  all  these  guarantees,  and  reduce  society  into  its 
original  elements. 

I  come  now,  Mr.  Chairman,  to  the  precedents  cited  in  sup- 
port of  my  claim,  and  to  which  the  gentleman  from  Xorth 
Carolina  so  strongly  objects,  inasmuch  as,  in  his  opinion,  they 
do  not  cover  the  present  case.  They  are  those  of  Paul  Fear- 
ing and  George  W.  Jones.  It  is  admitted  that  the  former, 
elected  as  delegate  from  the  Northwest  Territory,  appeared 
and  took  his  seat  months  after  the  passage  of  the  act  of  Con- 
gress admitting  Ohio  into  the  Union,  and  before  any  other 
new  territorial  organization  had  been  effected.  So  far,  then, 
Ohio  had  a  perfect  right  to  send  a  representative  and  senators 
to  Congress.  That  she  did  not  do  so,  affects  in  no  manner  the 
merits  of  the  question.  She  only  declined,  for  good  and  suffi- 
cient reasons,  to  exercise  her  undoubted  right.  During  this 
state  of  things,  Mr.  Fearing  was  in  his  seat,  not  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  sovereign  State  of  Ohio,  but  of  the  residuum 
of  the  Northwest  Territory.  This  is  a  fact  beyond  contradic- 
tion or  dispute.  If  Ohio  had  sent  her  representatives,  they 
would  have  been  admitted  without  question.  But  it  is  said 
that  Mr.  Feariiig's  right  to  a  seat  was  not  formally  passed 
upon  by  the  house.  But  we  know  that  the  Committee  on  Elec- 
tions reported  favorably  in  his  case,  and  the  fact  that  he  re- 
tained his  station  until  the  end  of  the  session  is  good  evidence 
that  the  house  concurred  with  the  committee  in  opinion. 

In  the  case  of  the  Hon.  George  W.  Jones,  now  a  United 
States  senator  from  Iowa,  the  circumstances,  although  not 
precisely  similar,  are  suflQciently  in  point  to  give  them  author- 
ity as  a  precedent.  Mr.  Jones  was  elected  the  delegate  from 
the  Territory  of  Michigan,  and  the  state  had  previously  formed 
a  constitution,  and  sent  its  senators  and  representatives  here 
to  demand  admission.  True,  the  act  of  Congress  admitting 
the  state  not  having  been  yet  passed,  they  were  not  formally 
received;  but  it  is,  nevertheless,  equally  true  that  Mr.  Jones 
was  elected  by  the  people  residing  out  of  the  limits  of  the  state, 


438  APPENDIX. 

and  that  he  represented  the  interests  of  the  residuum  only. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  State  of  Michigan  took  no  part  in  the 
election  of  that  gentleman.  Surely  one  or  the  other  of  the 
above  cited  cases  must  be  allowed  to  be  an  exact  precedent,  if 
both  are  not  to  be  so  considered. 

Mr.  Chairman,  the  onus  proband!  must  rest  upon  those  who 
deny  the  existence  of  a  distinct  territorial  government  in  Wis- 
consin Territory.  The  fact  that  the  organic  law  gave  to  that 
territory  certain  privileges,  among  which  was  the  right  to 
elect  a  delegate  to  Congress,  is  undeniable,  and  it  is  equally 
certain  that  no  subsequent  action  of  that  body  abrogated  any 
portion  of  that  law,  or  divested  the  people  of  any  of  these 
privileges.  The  conclusion  is  not  to  be  controverted,  that  a 
law  of  Congress  creating  a  temporary  government  over  a  por- 
tion of  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  must  continue  in 
force,  unless  repealed  by  the  same  legislative  authority.  The 
division  of  a  territory  is  not  the  destruction  thereof.  That 
portion  formed  into  a  state,  and  admitted  as  such,  has  com- 
menced a  new  political  existence;  but  the  residuum,  not  being 
in  any  wise  affected  thereby,  remained  under  the  operation 
of  the  old  law.  The  sphere  in  which  each  moves  is  well  de- 
fined, and  there  can  be  no  collision  between  them.  The  very 
act  establishing  the  territorial  government  of  Wisconsin  pro- 
vides that  Congress  shall  have  the  right  to  divide  it  into  two 
or  more  territories  at  any  time  thereafter,  if  such  a  step  should 
be  deemed  expedient  or  necessary.  It  did  so  virtually  by  the 
act  admitting  Wisconsin  into  the  Union. 

The  honorable  gentleman  from  North  Carolina  has  fallen 
into  a  grievous  error  when  he  asserts  that  during  the  first 
grade  of  territorial  government,  that  in  which  the  legislative 
power  was  vested  in  the  governor  and  judges,  the  government 
has  not  granted  them  a  delegate  in  Congress,  for  Michigan  was 
entitled  to,  and  was  represented  by,  a  delegate  years  before  a 
legislative  council  was  vouchsafed  to  her.  This  can  be  ascer- 
tained l»y  a  reference  to  the  Journals  of  Congress.  But,  sir,  I 
do  not  conceive  this  question  to  have  any  bearing  upon  the 
case  before  you.  The  people  of  Wisconsin  Territory  are  not 
present,  by  their  representative,  to  argue  any  question  of  ab- 
stract right,  but  to  apjjeal  to  this  committee  to  protect  them 
in  the  enjoyment  of  those  immunities  which  are  secured  to 
th(im  by  th(i  solemn  sanctions  of  law.  The  government  of  the 
United  States,  when  it  invited  its  citizens  to  emigrate  to  the 


APPENDIX.  439 

Territory  of  Wisconsin  by  the  formation  of  a  temporary  gov- 
ernment, must  have  intended  to  act  in  good  faith  toward  them, 
by  continuing  over  them  the  provisions  of  the  organic  law. 
Sixteen  thousand  acres  of  land  have  been  purchased,  for  the 
most  part  by  bona  fide  settlers,  the  proceeds  of  which  have 
gone  into  your  treasury.  Taxed  equally  with  other  inhabi- 
tants of  this  Union  for  the  support  of  the  general  government, 
they  are  certainly  entitled  to  equal  privileges. 

Sir,  it  is  a  fact  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  region  I  have  the 
honor  to  represent  have  always  heretofore,  since  the  establish- 
ment of  a  territorial  government  for  Wisconsin,  participated 
in  the  election  of  a  delegate,  and  have  enjoyed  all  the  rights 
and  immunities  secured  to  them  by  the  organic  law.  It  is 
equally  a  fact  that  they  have  a  full  county  organization,  and 
form  part  of  a  judicial  circuit.  Congress  was  by  no  means 
ignorant  of  the  existing  state  of  things  when  the  State  of  Wis- 
consin was  admitted,  for  there  were  lying,  at  that  time,  upon 
the  tables  of  both  houses,  petitions  signed  by  hundreds  of  the 
citizens  lying  north  and  west  of  the  St.  Croix  river,  praying 
that  they  might  not  be  included  within  the  limits  of  the  state, 
but  suffered  to  enjoy  the  benefits  of  the  territorial  govern- 
ment. The  region  north  and  west  of  Wisconsin  contains  an 
area  of  more  than  20,000  square  miles,  with  a  population  of 
nearly,  if  not  quite,  6,000  souls.  Can  a  proposition  be  seri- 
ously entertained  to  disfranchise  and  outlaw  the  people  ?  Sir, 
if  it  is  determined  that  the  territory  I  have  come  here  to  rep- 
resent has  no  claim  to  such  representation  on  the  floor  of  Con- 
gress, then  will  one  branch  of  the  law-making  power  have 
sanctioned  a  principle  which  will  scatter  all  the  restraints  of 
law  in  that  region  to  the  winds.  For  either  the  territorial 
organization  is  perfect  and  complete,  or  it  has  been  entirely 
abrogated  and  annulled.  The  same  authority  which  provides 
for  the  election  of  a  delegate,  gives  the  power  to  choose  other 
officers.  All  must  stand  or  fall  together.  If  we  have  no  or- 
ganization, as  is  contended  by  the  honorable  gentleman  from 
North  Carolina,  then  have  our  judicial  and  ministerial  officers 
rendered  themselves  liable  to  future  punishment  for  a  usurpa- 
tion of  power.  If  a  malefactor  has  been  apprehended,  or  a 
debtor  arrested,  the  officers  serving  the  writ  will  be  visited 
hereafter  with  an  action  for  false  imprisonment.  Our  beauti- 
ful country  will  become  a  place  of  refuge  for  depraved  and 
desperate  characters  from  the  neighboring  states.     The  vast 


440  APPENDIX. 

and  varied  agricultural  and  commercial  interests  of  the  coun- 
try will  be  involved  in  ruin,  and  all  security  for  life  and  prop- 
erty will  vanish.  But,  sir,  I  do  not  believe  that  this  commit- 
tee will  consent  to  give  a  decision  involving  such  a  train  of 
evils,  and  such  utter  absurdities.  Not  a  single  good  reason 
can  be  assigned  for  perpetrating  so  gross  an  outrage  upon 
several  thousand  citizens  of  the  United  States,  as  to  divest 
them,  at  one  fell  stroke,  of  all  those  blessings  of  a  legal  juris- 
diction which  they  have  hitherto  enjoyed,  and  that  without 
any  consent  or  agency  of  their  own. 

Sir,  there  are  certain  fixed  principles  of  law  which  cannot 
be  annulled  by  sophistry,  or  destroyed  by  any  system  of  spe- 
cial pleading.  By  these  eternal  and  immutable  maxims  are 
the  duties  of  governments  and  their  citizens  or  subjects  de- 
fined, and  their  mutual  and  reciprocal  obligations  are  not  to  be 
laid  aside,  or  dispensed  with,  by  either.  The  action  of  all 
popular  governments  must  be  of  a  beneficial  character  to  the 
governed.  The  one  must  protect,  the  other  obey.  The  former 
is  charged  with  the  duty  of  throwing  around  its  citizens  the 
safeguards  of  law,  while  they,  on  their  part,  are  bound  to  up- 
hold the  majesty  of  that  law.  Circumstances  of  extreme  dan- 
ger alone  can  for  a  moment  absolve  either  from  these  impera- 
tive obligations.  Whence,  then,  is  derived  the  power  of  this 
government  to  cast  aside  any  portion  of  its  citizens  at  will? 
Sir,  when  disfranchisement  is  visited  by  despotic  governments 
upon  their  people,  it  is  to  mete  out  to  them  the  severest  pun- 
ishment which  can  be  inflicted  upon  a  community  for  politi- 
cal offenses,  short  of  actual  extermination. 

Sir,  the  case  now  before  you  for  your  action  does  certainly 
present  some  novel  features.  It  is  the  first  time  since  the 
foundation  of  this  government  that  several  thousand  citizens 
of  the  United  States  have  been  found  supplicating  and  plead- 
ing, by  their  representative,  that  they  may  not  be  deprived 
by  Congress  of  all  civil  government,  and  thrust  from  its  doors 
by  a  forced  and  constructive  interpretation  of  a  law  of  the 
land,  which  does  not,  in  fact,  bear  even  remotely  upon  the 
question.  Appeals  and  i)etitions  have  often  been  made  by 
those  citizens  who,  having  voluntarily  removed  from  within 
the  bounds  of  a  legal  jurisdiction,  have  been  desirous  that 
this  blcsHing  should  be  granted  thcni,  but  not  that  what  had 
been  solemnly  secured  to  them  should  not  be  violently  with- 
drawn.    Sir,  the  wants  and  wishes  of  those  who  sent  me  here 


APPENDIX.  441 

have  now  no  advocate  on  the  floor  of  Congress.  These  people 
have  emigrated  to  the  remote  region  they  now  inhabit  under 
many  disadvantages. 

They  have  not  been  attracted  thither  by  the  glitter  of  in- 
exhaustible gold  mines,  but  with  the  same  spirit  which  has  actu- 
ated all  our  pioneers  of  civilization.  They  have  gone  there 
to  labor  with  the  axe,  the  anvil,  and  the  plow.  They  have 
elected  a  delegate  with  the  full  assurance  that  they  had  a  right 
so  to  do,  and  he  presents  himself  here  for  admission.  'Sir, 
was  this  a  question  in  which  the  consequences  would  be  con- 
fined to  me  personally,  the  honorable  members  of  this  house 
would  not  find  me  here,  day  after  day,  wearying  their  patience 
by  long  appeals  and  explanations.  But,  believing  as  I  do,  be- 
fore God,  that  my  case,  and  the  question  whether  there  is  any 
law  in  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin,  are  intimately  and  indis- 
solubly  blended  together,  I  trust  that  the  house  of  representa- 
tives will,  by  its  decision  of  the  claim  before  it,  establish  the 
principle,  which  shall  be  as  a  landmark  in  all  coming  time, 
that  citizens  of  this  mighty  republic,  upon  whom  the  rights 
and  immunities  of  a  civil  government  have  been  once  be- 
stowed by  an  act  of  Congress,  shall  not  be  deprived  of  these 
without  fault  or  agency  of  their  own,  unless  under  circum- 
stances of  grave  and  imperious  necessity,  involving  the  safety 
and  well  being  of  the  whole  country. 


FIRST  ADDRESS 

OP  — 

HON.  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY  OF  MINNESOTA 
TERRITORY, 

TO  THE    PEOPLE    OF    MINNESOTA    TERRITORY.      ISSUED    FROM 
WASHINGTON,    MARCH   10,    1849,    AT  CLOSE  OF  SEC- 
OND SESSION  THIRTIETH  CONGRESS.  ^ 
(See  pp.  121-135.) 


Fellow  Citizens  :  "When  a  public  servant  has  been  cho- 
sen to  perform  certain  duties  in  a  sphere  far  removed  from 
the  view  of  his  constituents,  it  is  customary  and  proper  that, 
upon  surrendering  his  trust  he  should  give  an  account  of  his 
stewardship.  As  it  is  impossible  to  communicate  with  you 
all,  orally,  scattered  as  you  are  over  an  immense  extent  of 
country,  I  have  decided  upon  this  mode  of  address,  that  you 
may  be  made  acquainted  in  brief  terms  with  the  obstacles 
which  I  have  had  to  encounter,  and  those  measures  of  public 
importance  which  have  been  brought  to  a  satisfactory  conclu- 
sion. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  I  should  refer  particularly  to  the 
occurrences  connected  with  the  canvass  which  resulted  in  my 
election  as  delegate  to  Congress.  The  events  attendant  upon 
that  struggle  have  become  a  part  of  the  history  of  our  time 
and  of  our  territory. 

While  in  Detroit,  on  my  way  to  "Washington,  I  was  fur- 
nished by  General  Cass  with  letters  of  introduction,  couched 
in  warm  terms,  to  some  of  the  leading  men  in  Congress. 
These  were  of  much  service  to  me;  and  for  the  interest  mani- 
fested by  that  distinguished  gentleman  in  the  welfare  of  our 
infant  territory,  I  make  this  public  acknowledgment  of  deep 
obligation. 

I  arrived  in  Wa.shington  two  days  before  Congress  con- 
veiKid,  and  I  soon  became  convinced  that  my  admission  as 
delegate  Wiis  extremely  uncertain;  in  fact,  I  may  say,  abso- 

1  Inadvertently,  on  page  134  of  tliis  volume,  this  "Address"  is  said  to  have  been  deliv- 
ered in  p<;rHon,  by  Mr.  Sibley,  to  tlio  people  of  Minnesota,  after  bis  return  from  Congress.  It 
wa.s  iHsiied  from  Wusiiiugton  in  i>aniplilet  form. —  N.  W. 


APPENDIX.  443 

lately  improbable.  My  credentials  were  presented  on  the  first 
day  of  the  session  by  the  Hon.  James  Wilson  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, in  whose  hands  they  were  placed,  because  he  had  for- 
merly resided  in  Iowa,  and  might  be  supposed  to  be  better 
informed,  as  to  our  situation  and  geographical  position,  than 
any  other  member.  Although  the  case  was  by  him  set  forth  in 
a  clear  and  strong  light,  an  objection  was  raised  to  my  admis- 
sion, and  my  claim  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Elections, 
with  instructions  to  examine  and  report  thereon.  I  will  not  en- 
ter into  a  detail  of  the  mortifications  and  vexatious  delays  to 
which  I  was  subjected  from  that  time  until  the  question  was 
decided,  six  weeks  after.  Although  permitted,  through  cour- 
tesy, to  occupy  a  seat  in  the  house,  I  was  allowed  none  of  the 
privileges  of  a  delegate,  and,  indeed,  I  was  little  more  than  a 
lobby  member.  Meanwhile  my  claim  was  resisted  with  bitter 
pertinacity  by  certain  individuals  of  the  committee,  particu- 
larly by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Boyden  of  North  Carolina,  who  made  a 
long  and  labored  argument  against  my  right  to  a  seat,  and  rid- 
iculed the  pretension  that  a  territorial  organization  still  ex- 
isted in  the  country  north  and  west  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin. 
I  made  a  reply  before  the  committee,  the  substance  of  which 
has  been  published.  You  can  judge  whether  your  rights  were 
therein  properly  sustained  and  defended.  Finally,  the  major- 
ity of  the  committee  reported  in  my  favor,  and  the  minority 
presented  a  strong  counter  protest.  On  the  fifteenth,  January, 
the  subject  was  brought  before  the  house,  and  the  resolution 
introduced  by  the  majority  of  the  committee  was  adopted  by  a 
strong  vote,  which  admitted  me  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  the 
privileges  of  a  delegate.  I  should  have  mentioned  that  my 
argument  in  answer  to  the  speech  of  Mr.  Boyden  was  made 
the  basis  of  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Elections,  a  copy 
having  been  furnished  by  me  to  the  chairman  at  his  request. 
Notwithstanding  the  decision  of  the  house  of  representa- 
tives, which  recognized  me  as  the  representative  of  Wisconsin 
Territory,  it  was  publicly  stated  by  many  members  who  had 
voted  for  my  reception,  that  they  did  not  intend  thereby  to 
admit  the  existence  of  an  organization  there,  but  had  been 
actuated  merely  by  motives  of  courtesy.  This  fact  was  made 
evident  but  a  few  days  subsequently,  when  one  of  my  oppo- 
nents, being  determined  to  test  the  question,  moved  to  add  an 
item  to  the  general  appropriation  bill  for  defraying  the  ex- 
penses of  Wisconsin  Territory  for  the  ensuing  year,  which 


444  APPENDIX. 

motion  was  negatived  by  a  large  majority.  The  house  was 
then  taunted  with  having  admitted  a  delegate  to  represent  a 
territory  which  had  in  reality  no  legal  existence. 

The  great  object  to  which  I  turned  my  attention  was  the 
bill  for  the  organization  of  Minnesota  Territory.  I  was  kindly 
allowed,  by  the  Committee  on  Territories  of  the  senate,  to 
change  certain  provisions  of  the  bill  so  as  to  meet  the  wishes 
of  my  constituents,  and  but  little  difficulty  was  experienced 
in  procuring  its  passage  by  that  body.  But  with  the  house 
the  case  was  far  different.  The  bill  there  was  most  violently 
opposed.  The  Committee  on  Territories  had  reported  amend- 
ments to  the  senate  bill,  changing  the  boundary  of  Minnesota, 
and  making  the  act  to  take  effect  on  the  tenth  of  March,  in- 
stead of  the  day  of  its  passage,  so  as  to  preclude  the  adminis- 
tration of  Mr.  Polk  from  making  the  appointments.  I  was 
averse  to  these  changes,  because  we  had  already  sufficient  ter- 
ritory without  extending  our  boundary  to  the  Missouri  river; 
and  as  to  the  appointments,  I  stated  that  Mr.  Polk  would  only 
exercise  the  right  to  nominate  two  or  three  of  the  officers,  and 
that  under  any  circumstances  the  proposed  amendment  was 
to  my  view  a  breach  of  delicacy  and  propriety,  but  in  both 
points  I  was  overruled. 

An  effort  was  made,  in  committee,  to  append  the  Wilmot 
proviso  to  the  territorial  bill,  but  this  I  resisted,  as  I  deter- 
mined, so  far  as  it  was  in  my  power,  not  to  allow  it  to  be 
clogged  by  a  provision  wholly  superfluous,  as  the  introduction 
of  slavery  was  prohibited  on  the  east  of  the  Mississippi  by 
the  ordinance  of  1787,  and  on  the  west  of  that  river  by  the 
act  of  1819  establishing  the  Missouri  line.  The  proposition 
was  therefore  voted  down  before  the  bill  was  reported  to  the 
house,  but  was  brought  in  as  an  amendment  by  the  minority 
of  the  committee,  and  was  only  kept  from  being  adopted,  and 
producing  consequently  a  fierce  and  angry  discussion,  which 
would  have  resulted  in  the  loss  of  the  bill,  by  my  moving  and 
refusing  to  withdraw  the  previous  question,  which  cut  off  all 
amendments.  On  the  twenty-second  of  February,  I  moved 
that  the  rules  of  the  houses  be  suspended  to  enable  me  to  sub- 
mit a  motion,  that  the  committee  of  the  whole  be  discharged 
from  the  further  consideration  of  the  bill  for  the  organization 
of  Minnesota  Territory,  so  as  to  put  it  upon  its  passage.  The 
rules  were  susi)ended  by  a  vote  of  100  to  IG,  and  the  struggle 
then  commenced  upon  my  moving  the  previous  question.     I 


APPENDIX.  445 

turned  a  deaf  ear  to  all  entreaties  to  withdraw  it,  and  I  there- 
by incurred  the  ire  of  those  who  were  inimical  to  the  bill. 
But  after  an  attempt  to  lay  it  on  the  table,  or  in  other  words, 
to  defeat  it,  which  was  unsuccessful,  it  was  finally  ordered  to 
a  third  reading,  and  all  opposition  to  it  ceased.  It  was  finally 
passed  on  the  second  of  March,  and  sent  to  the  senate,  which 
body  refused  to  concur  in  the  house  amendment,  changing  the 
date  when  the  bill  was  to  take  effect.  By  great  exertion  on 
the  part  of  my  friends  and  myself,  the  house  was  at  length 
persuaded  to  recede  from  its  amendment,  and  the  bill  was 
passed  and  became  a  law  on  the  third  of  March.  As  Mr. 
Polk,  with  great  magnanimity,  refused  to  make  the  appoint- 
ments, although  he  had  a  perfect  right  so  to  do,  I  waited  on 
General  Taylor  and  the  secretary  of  state  two  days  after  the 
inauguration,  and  submitted  a  written  appeal,  that  the  terri- 
tory should  be  allowed  the  three  ofiices,  of  secretary,  district 
attorney,  and  marshal,  if  no  others,  and  that  the  remainder 
should  be  filled  by  selections  from  the  Northwest.  The  effect 
of  the  step  you  have  seen.  Of  the  three  citizens  of  our  terri- 
tory named  by  me  in  connection  with  these  offices,  two  only 
have  been  appointed,  and  it  was  only  by  incessant  efforts  on 
my  part  that  even  these  were  allowed  us.  I  believe  it  to  be  a 
piece  of  injustice  toward  us,  and  a  violation  of  usage,  not  to 
have  given  us  the  office  of  secretary  also.  But  the  crowds  of 
office  seekers  must  be  conciliated,  if  possible,  and  at  our  cost,  so 
far  as  the  territory  could  furnish  the  means.  I  have  no  doubt 
the  selections  of  the  individuals  appointed  to  office  in  our 
territory  are  proper  ones;  but  I  contended  for  the  principle, 
that  when  the  materials  could  be  found  in  the  country  for 
filling  the  offices,  the  territory  should  be  preferred. 

I  should  be  wanting  in  my  duty,  did  I  not  place  before  you 
the  names  of  the  Hon.  Messrs.  Caleb  B.  Smith,  Eobert  Smith, 
Thompson,  Darling,  Lynde,  Turner,  Lincoln,  Sawyer,  Ste- 
phens, McLane,  JSTewell,  Van  Dyke,  Yenable,  and  Wilson,  as 
prominent  among  those  members  of  the  house  who  sustained 
our  interests  on  every  occasion.  We  owe  to  them  a  debt  of 
gratitude  for  their  exertions  in  our  behalf,  and  we  are  also 
under  particular  obligations  to  Hon.  Messrs.  Henry  and  A.  C. 
Dodge,  Walker,  Jones,  and  Douglas  of  the  senate,  for  their 
kind  sympathies,  which  were  manifested,  not  in  idle  words, 
but  by  a  firm  advocacy  of  all  those  measures  which  involved 
the  interests  of  Minnesota. 


446  APPENDIX. 

The  removal  of  the  land  office  to  Still  water  was  only  effected 
after  much  delay  and  diflBculty,  as  a  remonstrance  had  been 
made  by  the  members  of  the  Wisconsin  legislature,  and  sent  to 
Senator  Walker,  against  its  being  removed  out  of  the  limits 
of  the  state.  This  obstacle  was  eventually  surmounted  by 
the  establishment  of  an  additional  land  district  in  Wisconsin, 
the  location  of  which  office  has  been  made  at  Willow  River. 
A  weekly  mail  has  been  granted  us  by  the  postmaster  general, 
at  my  earnest  and  repeated  solicitation.  I  was  aided  in  ob- 
taining this  grant  by  the  gentlemen  composing  the  Iowa  and 
Wisconsin  delegations. 

I  offered  a  resolution  in  the  house,  which  was  adopted,  to 
instruct  the  Committee  on  the  Post  Office  to  inquire  into  the 
expediency  of  establishing  a  post  route  from  Fort  Snelling  to 
Fort  Gaines,  also  to  instruct  the  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs 
to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  extending  the  laws  of  the 
United  States  over  the  Northwest  tribes,  so  as  to  make  all 
amenable  to  the  proper  tribunals,  and  thereby  put  a  stop  to 
the  murders  and  other  crimes  habitually  perpetrated  among 
them.  I  also  drew  up  a  bill  which  was  presented  in  the  sen- 
ate by  Hon.  George  W.  Jones,  and  in  the  house  by  Hon. 
Eobert  Smith,  appropriating  112,000  for  the  construction  of  a 
road  from  the  St.  Louis  river  of  Lake  Superior,  to  St.  Paul 
and  to  Point  Douglas  via  the  Marine  Mills  and  Stillwater. 
There  was  not  sufficient  time  to  push  these  measures  through 
Congress  at  this  short  session;  but  they  will  doubtless  be 
effected  next  winter,  as  I  do  not  apprehend  any  difficulty  will 
be  thrown  in  the  way  of  their  passage.  Much  business  apper- 
taining to  individuals  and  to  private  claims  has  also  been 
intrusted  to  me,  and  I  have  given  it  as  great  a  share  of  my 
attention  as  other  and  more  important  duties  would  permit. 

Having  been  furnished  with  a  power  of  attorney,  signed 
by  a  large  number  of  Sioux  mixed-bloods,  to  dispose  of  their 
lands  at  Lake  Pepin,  I  waited  upon  the  secretary  of  war  and 
commissioner  of  Indian  aifairs  repeatedly,  with  a  hope  of  pro- 
curing their  concurrence  in  the  furtherance  of  this  object.  It 
was  finally  decided  l)y  the  former,  that  as  a  change  of  ad- 
mi  nistiation  was  so  soon  to  take  place,  it  would  not  be  proper 
for  him  to  enter  into  any  negotiations  with  me;  and  he  like- 
wise ()hjc(',t<!d,  that  as  many  of  the  signatures  were  in  the  same 
han<lvvriting,  and  only  witnessed  by  two  persons,  that  the  let- 
ter of  attorney  would  not  be  considered  valid  in  law.     I  then 


APPENDIX.  447 

made  the  attempt  to  procure  an  item  to  be  appended  to  the 
general  appropriation  bill,  for  a  sufficient  sum  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  making  a  treaty  with  the  owners  of  the  Lake 
Pepin  tract,  and  for  negotiating  a  general  treaty  with  the 
Sioux  Indians;  also  for  $2,500  to  pay  the  expenses  of  a  general 
treaty  of  pacification  between  the  Sioux,  Chippewa,  and  Win- 
nebago tribes;  but  the  bill  was  so  far  advanced  that  the 
chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means  refused  to 
recommend  these  measures,  and  I  knew  it  would  be  useless  to 
press  them  in  opposition  to  him. 

The  petitions  of  those  individuals  who  had  suffered  by 
being  driven  from  their  places  of  residence  on  the  military 
reserve,  as  also  those  who  had  lost  a  part  or  all  of  the  amount 
allowed  them  under  the  Sioux  treaty  of  1837,  were  presented 
and  referred  to  the  proper  committees  for  examination;  but 
they  were  received  too  late  in  the  season  to  be  acted  on  at  the 
session  just  closed.  There  is  no  doubt  of  the  justice  of  the 
claims  of  all  these  persons,  and  I  trust  and  believe,  that  if 
properly  represented  and  pressed,  they  will  be  met  in  a  spirit 
of  liberality  by  Congress  at  its  next  meeting. 

I  have  thus,  fellow  citizens,  glanced  at  those  measures  of 
importance  to  Minnesota  and  its  people,  which  have  been 
attempted  or  accomplished.  It  remains  for  me  now  only  to 
state  a  few  facts  and  make  a  few  suggestions,  which  are  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  subject.  In  the  first  place,  I  assert 
as  a  proposition,  which  cannot  be  contradicted,  that  your  dele- 
gate would  not  have  been  admitted  to  a  seat  if  he  had  ap- 
peared here  as  elected  by  a  party,  and  that  his  defeat  would 
have  involved  the  failure  of  the  Minnesota  bill,  and  necessa- 
rily of  other  important  projects  which  were  committed  solely 
to  his  care.  I  do  not  make  this  declaration  in  any  spirit  of 
self-congratulation  or  conceit.  There  are  others  among  you 
who,  with  the  same  advantages  and  the  same  means,  would 
have  performed  as  much  as  I  have  done.  But  I  refer  to  the 
fact  to  illustrate  the  wisdom  of  your  determination  to  draw 
no  party  lines  at  the  late  election.  Chosen  by  the  people 
without  regard  to  the  distinctions  of  Whig  or  Democrat,  my 
course  here  has  been  shaped  in  exact  accordance  with  that  de- 
termination. My  rule  was  to  keep  my  ears  open  and  my  mouth 
shut,  whenever  questions  were  discussed  of  a  party  character, 
or  other  matters  not  appertaining  in  any  way  to  my  own  region 
of  country.    The  contemptible  attack  upon  me  which  appeared 


448  APPENDIX. 

in  the  Union,  was  happily  attended  with  no  effect  whatever, 
but  was  regarded  as  the  malignant  effusion  of  a  personal 
enemy,  or  of  one  inimical  to  the  interests  of  those  who  sent 
me  here.  It  was  only  considered  surprising  by  Democrats 
and  "VVhigs,  that  anyone  could  be  found  in  the  territory  suf- 
ficiently malevolent,  to  resort  to  these  means,  which  might 
have  been  attended  with  serious  injury  to  your  interests,  in 
the  then  critical  state  of  my  case,  to  accomplish  some  un- 
known purpose.  To  show  how  little  it  was  regarded,  I  will 
merely  mention  that  the  article  appeared  in  the  Union  only 
two  days  before  the  vote  was  taken  by  which  I  was  received 
as  delegate;  and  you  are  doubtless  aware,  that  at  least  one-half 
of  those  who  supported  me  were  Democrats.  Immediately 
after  the  publication  of  the  communication  referred  to,  I  called 
at  the  office  of  the  Union  to  ascertain  by  what  authority  it  had 
been  inserted,  and  Mr.  EitcMe  expressed  his  regret  that  any 
misstatement  had  been  made,  and  very  handsomely  offered 
me  the  columns  of  his  paper  to  make  necessary  corrections. 
Upon  the  advice  of  my  friends,  I  determined  that  the  article 
should  receive  no  further  notice  at  my  hands. 

You  are  all  aware  that  I  appeared  before  the  people  as  a 
candidate  opposed  to  drawing  party  lines.  I  believed  then,  and 
I  believe  now,  that  no  such  distinctions  should  be  made  in  a 
territory,  the  delegate  of  which  has  no  vote,  and  whose  policy 
is  to  make  himself  popular  with  all  parties.  When  the  time 
comes,  be  it  sooner  or  later,  that  we  shall  have  a  population 
sufficient  to  justify  us  in  looking  forward  to  our  admission 
into  the  Union  at  an  early  day,  then,  in  my  view,  will  be  the 
proper  period  to  mould  the  political  complexion  of  the  state. 
My  own  opinions  on  all  points  of  national  policy  are  as  dis- 
tinct and  well  defined  as  those  of  any  other  man.  But  never 
having  resided  within  the  limits  of  a  state  for  any  length  of 
time,  I  have  not  been  called  upon  to  take  part  in  political 
contests.  I  do  not  assume  to  direct  your  views  on  this  sub- 
ject, nor  to  dictate  what  course  you  should  pursue.  I  only 
state  my  own  opinions,  based  upon  observation  and  experience. 
You  will  soon  be  called  upon  to  choose  a  delegate  to  represent 
the  interests  of  Minnesota  Territory  in  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States.  "Whether  or  not  I  shall  be  a  candidate,  de- 
pends upon  the  value  which  will  be  attached  to  my  labors 
hitherto,  and  certain  other  contingencies.  I  do  not  pretend 
to  conceal,  however,  that  there  is  a  strong  probability  that  I 


APPENDIX.  449 

may  present  myself  before  you  as  such,  and  seek  to  be  re- 
elected. It  is  for  the  people  to  decide  in  their  jjrimary  assem- 
blies, whether  they  will  maintain  the  position  they  have  hith- 
erto assumed,  or  whether  they  will  divide  on  the  point  of 
national  politics.  In  either  case,  it  will  be  for  me  to  acquiesce 
in  the  determination;  but  until  party  lines  are  drawn,  I  shall 
continue  to  occupy  the  same  neutral  ground  I  have  heretofore 
contended  for,  until  your  fiat  has  gone  forth  that  it  must  be 
abandoned,  and  that  your  public  men  must  thenceforth  be 
tried  by  a  party  test;  when,  should  I  conclude  to  allow  my 
name  to  appear  before  you  in  connection  with  the  high  station 
of  delegate,  I  shall  make  a  declaration  of  my  political  senti- 
ments. Whoever  may  be  selected  to  fill  that  office  will  find 
himself  very  differently  situated  from  the  delegate  who  repre- 
sented the  unrecognized  Territory  of  Wisconsin.  He  will  not 
have  to  struggle  for  admission  to  the  house  of  representatives, 
nor  be  told  that  he  owes  his  seat  only  to  the  courtesy  of  that 
body. 

Minnesota  now  occupies  no  unenviable  position.  The  gov- 
ernment granted  us  secures  us  all  in  the  full  possession  of 
privileges  almost  if  not  fully  equal  to  those  enjoyed  by  the 
people  of  the  states.  With  a  legislative  council,  elected  from 
among  our  own  citizens,  our  own  judicial  tribunals,  with  a 
large  appropriation  for  the  construction  of  public  buildings, 
and  for  a  public  librkry,  with  ample  provision  for  defraying 
the  expenses  of  the  territorial  government,  and  with  the  right 
of  representation  in  the  halls  of  Congress,  surely  we  can  have 
no  cause  of  complaint  so  far  as  our  political  situation  is  con- 
cerned. It  is  for  ourselves,  by  a  wise,  careful,  and  practical 
legislation,  and  by  improving  the  advantages  we  possess,  to 
keep  inviolate  the  public  faith,  and  to  hasten  the  time  when 
the  star  of  Minnesota,  which  now  but  twinkles  in  the  political 
firmament,  shall  shine  brilliantly  in  the  constellation  of  our 
confederated  states. 

Fellow  citizens,  my  task  is  finished;  and  while  you  have 
my  heartfelt  thanks  for  the  honor  bestowed  upon  me  in  elect- 
ing me  your  delegate,  I  now  give  back  the  trust,  with  a  full 
consciousness  that  I  have  allowed  no  selfish  feeling  to  inter- 
fere with  my  public  duties;  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  I  have 
labored  constantly,  zealously,  and  faithfully,  with  the  poor 
talents  God  has  bestowed  upon  me,  in  advancing  all  the  great 
and  important  interests  of  our  common  country. 


SECOND  ADDRESS 

OF 

HOK.    HEXRY  HASTIT^GS  SIBLEY  OF  MINNESOTA 
TEERITORY, 

TO    THE    PEOPLE   OF   MINNESOTA    TERRITOEy.      ISSUED    FROM 

WASHINGTON,  JULY  29,   1850,   BEFORE  CLOSE  OF 

FIRST  SESSION,  THIRTY-FIRST  CONGRESS. 

(See  pp.  177,  178.) 


Fellow  Citizens:  The  day  being  at  hand  which  has  been 
fixed  by  law  for  the  choice  of  a  delegate  to  represent  you  in 
the  next  Congress,  I  have  adoi3ted  this  method  of  announcing 
myself  to  you  as  a  candidate  for  re-election.  It  would  have 
been  much  more  agreeable  to  me  if  I  had  been  permitted  to  do 
this  in  person,  but  it  is  not  probable  that  I  will  be  able  to 
leave  my  post  for  a  sufficient  length  of  time  to  visit  you  before 
the  first  Monday  in  September,  without  jeoparding  the  success 
of  measures  in  which  the  territory  is  deeply  interested.  No 
considerations  merely  personal  to  myself  can  induce  me  to  be 
absent  under  such  circumstances. 

Nearly  sixteen  years  have  elapsed  since  I  became  a  resident 
of  what  is  now  Minnesota.  With  the  exception  of  the  garri- 
son at  Fort  Snelling,  and  a  few  settlers  in  the  vicinity,  and  at 
the  different  trading  posts  in  the  interior,  there  was  then  not 
a  single  white  man  within  the  vast  area  of  country  embraced 
at  present  in  the  limits  of  our  territory.  All  was  one  vast 
solitude,  beautiful  indeed  in  its  pristine  loveliness,  but  with- 
out any  traces  of  the  handiwork  of  civilized  man.  In  the 
course  of  time  the  influx  of  population  commenced,  and  con- 
tinued, but  at  a  slow  rate,  until  the  admission  of  Wisconsin 
as  a  state,  and  the  organization  at  the  subseijuent  session  of 
Minnesota  Territory.  The  scene  has  changed,  and  that  very 
suddenly,  since  the  latter  measure  was  secured.  That  organi- 
zation lias  infused  new  energy  and  vitality  into  a  region  which 
had  suffered  for  months  from  the  withdrawal  on  the  part  of 
the  general  govcnnncnt  of  the  blessings  and  protection  of  law 


APPENDIX.  451 

which  had  previously  been  enjoyed.  Let  ns  take  a  retrospec- 
tive glance  at  the  different  movements  which  led  the  way  to 
so  momentous  a  result.  The  first  of  these  was  the  Stillwater 
convention,  which  assembled  in  pursuance  of  a  call  made  on 
the  fourth  day  of  August,  1848,  by  eighteen  citizens,  myself 
being  one  of  that  number.  The  convention  was  composed  of 
sixty-one  delegates,  representing  nearly  all  the  inhabited  por- 
tions of  the  territory,  and  their  action  in  memorializing  Con- 
gress, and  in  stimulating  the  public  mind  to  the  necessity  of 
the  immediate  establishment  of  a  territorial  government,  may 
be  regarded  as  the  moving  spring  of  a  series  of  measures, 
which  were  destined  to  bring  about  that  desirable  end.  T  was 
appointed  by  that  convention  as  a  delegate  or  agent  to  visit 
Washington  during  the  session  of  Congress,  and  use  every 
proper  effort  to  accomplish  the  object,  which  we  all  deemed 
to  be  of  such  paramount  importance.  I  accepted  the  commis- 
sion, stating  to  the  convention  at  the  same  time,  that  I  should 
accept  of  no  remuneration  from  the  people,  either  for  loss  of 
time,  or  for  my  personal  expenses. 

But  a  short  period  had  elapsed,  however,  before  acting 
Governor  Catlin,  being  satisfied  of  the  propriety  of  the  step, 
by  the  letters  of  Hon.  James  Buchanan  and  others,  and  being 
urged  by  some  of  our  citizens  to  do  so,  issued  his  proclamation 
for  the  election  of  a  delegate  to  Congress,  to  represent  the  re- 
siduum of  Wisconsin  Territory.  The  proceedings  of  the  con- 
vention in  my  case  were  confirmed,  and  I  was  elected  by  the 
people.  The  obstacles  which  were  thrown  in  the  way  of  my 
obtaining  a  seat,  and  the  desperate  exertions  necessary  after  I 
was  admitted,  to  secure  the  passage  by  Congress  of  an  act  to  es- 
tablish the  territorial  government  of  Minnesota,  are  part  and 
parcel  of  the  history  of  the  times,  and  must  be  familiar  to  most 
of  you.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  those  exertions,  aided  by  friendly 
influences  in  and  out  of  Congress,  were  successful,  and  Minne- 
sota became  an  organized  territory  of  the  republic.  The 
tidings  of  the  passage  of  this  act  were  received  by  the  people 
with  acclamation,  and  at  the  subsequent  election  I  was  re- 
turned as  the  delegate  to  Congress  without  opposition.  Such 
is  a  succinct,  but  correct,  account  of  the  transactions  connected 
with  our  entrance  upon  a  territorial  state.  The  results  are 
already  visible  in  the  flourishing  condition  of  affairs  among 
us,  in  the  increase  of  immigration,  and  our  prospective  speedy 
advancement  to  the  rank  of  an  independent  state  of  the  Con- 
federacy. 


452  APPENDIX. 

At  the  close  of  the  session  of  Congress,  and  before  my  re- 
turn to  the  territory,  I  issued  an  address  to  my  constituents, 
recapitulating  what  had  been  effected,  and  counseling  them, 
so  far  as  it  was  i^roper  and  respectful  for  me  to  do  so,  not  to 
permit  party  politics  to  enter  into  their  elections,  but  aver- 
ring, at  the  same  time,  my  determination  to  make  public  my 
own  political  sentiments,  so  soon  as  I  should  become  satisfied 
that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  people  to  draw  party  lines. 
Subsequently,  in  the  month  of  October,  a  Democratic  conven- 
tion was  held  at  St.  Paul,  a  committee  of  which  made  a  call 
upon  me,  which  elicited,  on  my  part,  what  has  been  desig- 
nated as  the  "American  House  Letter,"  about  which  so  much 
has  been  said.  I  therein  stated,  that  although  I  had  pre- 
viously opposed  the  mingling  of  party  considerations  with  our 
elections,  I  was  convinced  that  the  lines  were  already  virtually 
drawn,  and  in  accordance,  therefore,  with  my  previous  public 
declaration,  I  felt  at  liberty  to  make  my  own  sentiments  known, 
which  were  those  of  a  Democrat  of  the  Jeffersonian  school, 
but  I  distinctly  asserted  at  the  same  time,  that,  having  been 
elected  by  the  united  votes  of  Whigs  and  Democrats,  in  no 
event  would  I  depart  from  a  course  of  strict  neutrality  in  the 
discharge  of  my  public  duties  here.  No  man  can  justly  charge 
me  with  a  deviation  from  that  line  of  conduct,  nor  can  I  be 
induced  to  swerve  from  it  during  my  remaining  term  of  ser- 
vice. 

It  is  evident  I  was  in  error  in  supposing  that  the  people  of 
the  territory  generally  were  in  favor  of  a  party  organization, 
and  that  such  a  step  could  no  longer  be  avoided.  And  I  am 
not  prepared  to  say  that  the  postponement  of  a  division  on 
political  grounds  is  not  the  most  prudent  course  that  can  be 
pursued,  for  the  present  at  least,  in  our  territory.  When  our 
population  shall  have  sufficiently  increased  to  justify  us  in  the 
belief  that  the  day  for  the  admission  of  Minnesota  into  the 
Union  is  not  far  distant,  it  will  be  the  incumbent  duty  of  every 
man  within  it,  so  to  endeavor  to  form  its  x>olitical  complexion 
as  to  111 m  may  seem  best  calculated  to  insure  "the  greatest 
good  to  the  greatest  number."  Until  that  period  arrives, 
leave  your  deh^gate  at  least  free  to  act,  witliout  being  tram- 
meled by  any  imj)osed  obligation,  to  take  part  in  the  political 
contests  at  the  seat  of  government.  My  own  experience  has 
so  far  conviiKM'd  mo  of  the  pr<)])riety  of  non-interference  in 
these  topics  of  discussion  here,  that  should  1  even  be  elected  by  a 


APPENDIX.  453 

strict  jjarty  vote  to  that  station,  a  conscientious  regard  for  the 
interests  of  the  territory  would  constrain  me  to  pursue  the 
same  line  of  policy  which  I  have  hitherto  adopted.  In  no 
other  way  can  a  delegate  make  himself  useful  to  his  constitu- 
ents, or  accomplish  those  beneficial  results  for  the  territory, 
which  they  have  a  right  to  expect  at  his  hands. 

I  need  hardly  inform  you,  fellow  citizens,  that  for  obvious 
reasons  there  has  been  greater  difficulty  in  procuring  the  as- 
sent of  Congress  to  any  measures  of  practical  legislation  during 
the  present  session,  than  has  probably  ever  been  the  case  since 
the  foundation  of  the  government.  Nearly  eight  months  have 
been  consumed  in  debate  on  topics  more  or  less  connected 
with  the  institution  of  slavery,  to  the  exclusion  of  other  great 
and  important  interests  of  the  country.  Every  other  subject 
of  national  concern  has  been  overlooked  and  neglected  by  Con- 
gress, and  up  to  this  time  there  seems  to  be  no  more  ground 
to  hope  for  the  adjustment  or  settlement  of  the  sectional  con- 
troversy which  now  agitates  the  land  than  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  session.  It  could  not  reasonably  be  expected, 
under  such  circumstances,  that  Minnesota  would  receive  much 
attention  at  the  hands  of  that  body.  It  should  be  a  subject  of 
congratulation,  therefore,  that  we  have  not  been  thus  neg- 
lected. Of  the  very  few  acts  passed,  and  sanctioned  by  the 
president,  three  of  them  have  been  for  our  especial  benefit. 
I  refer  to  the  bills  for  the  erection  of  public  buildings,  and  a 
prison,  for  roads,  and  to  authorize  the  legislative  assembly  to 
prolong  its  next  session  to  ninety  days.  By  the  two  former, 
we  are  secured  the  sum  of  $80,000,  to  be  expended  during  the 
current  year.  The  sums  allowed  for  the  construction  of  roads 
between  important  and  distant  points  in  our  territory,  al- 
though, perhaps,  not  sufficient  to  complete  them,  will  go  far 
toward  opening  the  country  to  immigrants,  and  will  prove  of 
incalculable  benefit,  even  on  that  score  alone.  And  we  may 
reasonably  rely  upon  the  liberality  of  Congress  to  supply  any 
deficiency  hereafter,  which  may  operate  to  prevent  the  imme- 
diate completion  of  these  great  thoroughfares. 

The  estimates  for  the  expenses  of  the  territorial  govern- 
ment for  this  year,  including  the  increase  requisite  to  meet 
the  prolonged  session,  will  amount  to  about  .$35,000,  and  are 
provided  for  in  the  general  civil  and  diplomatic  appropriation 
bill,  which  will  undoubtedly  be  passed  within  the  next  twenty 
days.     To  these  amounts  are  to  be  added  the  sum  appropri- 


454  APPENDIX. 

ated  to  meet  the  deficiencies  in  the  territorial  expenditures  of 
last  year,  amounting  to  about  $13,000,  the  most  part  of  which 
was  got  through  in  the  face  of  an  existing  law  of  Congress 
prohibiting  the  territories  from  exceeding  the  appropriations 
made  to  defray  the  expenses  of  their  respective  governments. 
Thus  far,  then,  we  have  secured  to  us  for  disbursement  among 
our  citizens  during  this  year,  more  than  one-eighth  of  a  mil- 
lion of  dollars  in  cash,  which  is  more  than  any  other  territory 
has  ever  received  in  a  single  year. 

But  this  is  not  all  that  has  been  accomplished.  The  river 
and  harbor  bill,  which  has  been  reported  to  the  house  by  the 
Committee  on  Commerce,  contains  an  item  of  $5,000  for  the 
survey  of  the  Mississippi  river  above  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony, 
preparatory  to  its  improvement.  Congress  has  enriched  our 
library,  by  the  gift  of  a  copy  of  the  complete  works  of  the  ex- 
ploring expedition,  valued  at  eight  hundred  or  a  thousand 
dollars.  The  appropriations  for  treaties  with  the  Sioux  In- 
dians, and  to  extinguish  the  Indian  title  to  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  the  valley  of  the  Eed  Eiver  of  the  North,  have  been 
placed  in  proper  train,  and  will  be  speedily  acted  on.  The 
senate  has  passed  the  bill  "for  the  benefit  of  Minnesota," 
which,  should  it  succeed  in  the  house,  will  grant  us  quite 
three  millions  of  acres  of  the  public  lands  for  the  construction 
of  a  railroad  from  our  extreme  western  boundary,  by  the  way 
of  Lake  Traverse  and  the  valley  of  the  Minnesota  river,  to  the 
Iowa  line,  with  a  sure  prospect  of  a  further  grant  at  the  next 
session,  for  a  connecting  branch  to  the  seat  of  government. 
The  bill  for  the  reduction  of  the  military  reserve  at  Fort  Snell- 
ing  has  been  retarded  in  the  senate  by  opposition  from  the 
war  department,  and  from  other  sources,  but  I  have  strong 
reasons  to  believe  it  will,  nevertheless,  become  a  law  during 
the  present  session.  The  half-breed  treaty,  which  has  been 
to  me  the  cause  of  much  anxiety,  and  in  behalf  of  which  I 
have  spared  no  exertion,  still  remains  unacted  on  in  the  senate, 
and  may  possibly  be  defeated,  because  of  the  undue  and  ma- 
lignant inlhiences  which  have  been  brought  to  bear  upon  it 
from  the  territory,  inducing  senators  to  look  upon  it  with  a 
suspicious  and  uufavorable  eye.  The  bills  for  post  routes, 
and  a  collection  district  in  Minnesota,  will  doubtless  also  be 
passed. 

Besides  tli(\se  lueasures  which  I  liave  enumerated,  and 
which  have  required  my  uuri^mitting  attention,  much  business 


APPENDIX.  455 

has  been  transacted  with  the  different  departments  of  the  gov- 
ernment, as  well  for  the  territory  as  for  private  citizens. 
Mail  facilities  have  been  multiplied,  and  post  offices  established 
through  my  instrumentality.  Several  of  the  thirty-sixth  sec- 
tions of  school  lands  have  been  secured,  of  which  the  decision 
of  the  commissioner  of  the  land  office  would  have  deprived  us, 
had  I  not  prosecuted  a  successful  appeal  from  that  decision  to 
the  secretary  of  the  interior.  Many  claims  of  our  citizens 
upon  the  government  have  been  pressed,  for  the  most  part 
with  success,  and  no  individual  can  complain  of  neglect  on 
my  part,  who  has  intrusted  his  affairs  to  my  hands.  I  have, 
withal,  maintained  a  correspondence  with  all  parts  of  the 
country  in  reference  to  Minnesota  and  its  advantages,  infor- 
mation being  naturally  sought  from  me,  by  persons  desirous 
to  emigrate,  and  cheerfully  afforded. 

I  have  thus  endeavored  to  bring  to  your  notice,  fellow  citi- 
zens, but  in  an  imperfect  and  hasty  manner,  the  field  of  labor 
which  has  occupied  your  delegate,  for  the  most  part,  day  and 
night,  since  the  commencement  of  the  session.  You  can  thereby 
judge,  to  some  extent  at  least,  of  the  obstacles  to  be  surmount- 
ed, in  accomplishing  what  has  been  done.  If  anyone  imag- 
ines that  these  results  have  been  brought  about  without  per- 
sonal solicitation,  constant  and  unwearied,  and  the  cultivation 
of  kind  relations  with  members  of  both  houses  of  Congress, 
and  the  heads  of  departments  and  bureaus,  as  well  as  the  most 
arduous  continuity  of  exertion,  he  is  much  deceived  in  his 
estimate  of  what  is  necessary  to  the  satisfactory  consummation 
here,  of  business  appertaining  either  to  the  territory  or  to 
individuals.  I  have  been  a  working  man  thus  far  through 
life,  but  never  have  I  been  called  upon  to  undergo  labor  so 
incessant  and  so  exhausting,  as  during  this  and  the  preceding 
session  of  Congress. 

It  will  naturally  be  asked,  why,  if  such  be  the  case,  I  have 
any  desire  to  return  here  as  the  delegate,  after  the  expiration 
of  my  present  term  of  service.  I  have  two  reasons  to  assign 
why  I  have  consented  again  to  go  before  the  people  as  a  can- 
didate for  re-election.  The  first  is,  that  many  of  my  friends, 
irrespective  of  party,  have  urged  me  to  do  so;  and  the  second 
is  my  entire  conviction,  that  one  or  more  of  those  who  have 
been  announced  as  probable  candidates  for  the  station  I  now 
hold,  seek  to  be  elected,  not  for  the  advancement  of  the  ter- 
ritory and  its  interests,  but  to  subserve  private  ends  and  sel- 


456  APPENDIX. 

fish  purposes.  I  have  toiled  too  long  and  too  faithfully  for 
Minnesota,  to  be  willing  to  see  its  destinies  committed  to  such 
hands,  if  by  any  sacrifice  of  my  own  inclination  or  comfort,  I 
can  avert  from  it  such  an  evil. 

Being  necessarily  absent  during  the  canvass,  fellow  citi- 
zens, I  must  expect  to  be  assailed  by  every  device  and  every 
weapon  which  my  enemies  can  bring  to  bear  against  me. 
Some  of  the  gentlemen  who  are  reported  as  among  the  candi- 
dates, will  not,  I  feel  assured,  descend  to  detraction  or  abuse 
to  endeavor  to  bring  about  my  defeat.  From  others  who  are 
also  announced  as  aspirants  to  the  same  office,  I  may  not  ex- 
pect, nor  do  I  ask,  forbearance.  They  commenced  their  sys- 
tem of  tactics  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  session,  by  endeav- 
oring at  that  early  period,  to  induce  the  people  of  Minnesota 
to  believe  that  I  had  lost  my  influence  here.  I  am  willing  to 
be  judged  on  this  point  by  results,  which,  after  all,  is  the  only 
criterion  whereby  to  form  a  correct  impression  as  to  the  stand- 
ing of  a  representative.  It  will  be  charged,  also,  that  I  am 
connected  with  a  firm  which  is  a  monopoly.  If  to  be  a  monopo- 
list is  never  to  make  use  of  any  means  to  crush  an  opponent, 
or  to  work  injury  to  any  man,  then  am  I  one.  If  it  is  in  the 
nature  of  a  monopolist  to  assist  the  poor  man  in  securing  his 
homestead,  by  lending  the  money  necessary  for  him  to  do  so, 
at  never  more  than  a  legal  rate  of  interest,  when  he  would 
cheerfully  have  paid  twenty  per  cent  per  annum,  then  must 
I  plead  guilty  to  the  charge,  for  I  have  been  such  a  monopo- 
list in  many  cases,  so  far  as  my  means  would  allow.  I  appeal 
to  the  old  settlers,  who  have  known  me  for  years,  to  say 
whether  I  have  ever  oppressed  a  human  being,  or  taken  ad- 
vantage of  his  necessities  to  deal  harshly  by  him. 

I  do  not  anticipate  that  the  most  virulent  of  my  opponents 
will  attempt  any  imputation  upon  my  private  character,  or 
even  insinuate  that  I  have  used  my  public  position  for  j)ersonal 
objects  of  my  own,  or  for  any  other  purpose  than  the  general 
interests  of  the  territory. 

Fellow  citizens,  if  I  have  seemed  unduly  to  parade  before 
you  the  services  I  have  rendered,  I  trust  yon  will  not  attribute 
my  having  done  so  to  an  exaggerated  estimate  of  my  own 
merits,  or  a  desire  to  impress  you  with  an  idea  that  what  has 
been  uftconiplislM^d  has  be(Mi  owing  mlchi  to  my  own  exertions. 
On  the  contraiy,  1  have  been  aided  by  kind  and  confiding 
friends  in  and  out  of  Congress,  and  it  gives  me  pleasure  here 


APPENDIX.  457 

to  acknowledge  the  obligations  I  am  under  to  the  Hon.  Messrs. 
Douglas,  Dodge  of  Wisconsin,  Dodge  of  Iowa,  Cooper,  Un- 
derwood, Foote,  Shields,  Seward,  Walker,  and  others,  of  the 
senate,  and  to  many  gentlemen  of  both  political  parties  in  the 
house  of  representatives,  for  the  friendly  assistance  rendered 
me  in  promoting  the  interests  of  our  territory.  His  Excel- 
lency, Governor  Ramsey,  has  also  rendered  me  essential  sup- 
port, by  his  correspondence  with  leading  men  here;  and  I  am 
happy  likewise,  to  render  to  Hugh  Tyler,  Esq.,  of  our  terri- 
tory, the  tribute  due  for  his  efficient  co-operation  in  urging 
forward  all  measures  of  importance  to  its  welfare.  What  I 
do  claim  for  myself  is,  to  have  devoted  my  whole  time  and 
most  strenuous  efforts  to  the  discharge  of  my  public  duty. 

Finally,  fellow  citizens,  I  offer  myself  as  a  candidate  for 
your  suffrages  at  the  approaching  election,  without  distinc- 
tion of  party,  hereby  pledging  myself,  if  elected,  to  maintain, 
during  my  term  of  service,  the  same  neutral  position  in  the 
discharge  of  my  duties  as  a  delegate,  that  I  have  hitherto 
preserved,  and  to  labor  for  the  general  good  of  Minnesota  with 
the  same  zeal  and  diligence  which  have  thus  far  characterized 
my  course.  More  than  this,  I  can  neither  promise  nor  per- 
form. 

Your  Fellow  Citizen, 

Henry  H.  Sibley. 
Washington  City,  July  29,  1850. 


II. 
OFFICIAL  MILITARY  REPORTS  AND  DISPATCHES 

^  OF . 

COLONEL  HENRY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY. 

FIRST  SIOUX   CAMPAIGN, 

1862. 

(See  i)p.  2o8-2SS.) 


[This  second  part  of  the  appendix  contains  military  reports  and  dis- 
patches of  Colonel  Sibley,  during  the  first  Sioux  campaign,  and  covering 
the  period  from  September  1,  1862,  to  October  21,  1862.] 

Headquarters,  September  1, 1862. 
Adjutant  General  0.  Malmros,  St.  Paul, 

Sir:  The  ammunitiou  and  rations  have  just  arrived,  and 
although  the  supply  is  small,  I  shall  march  to-morrow  and 
probably  cross  the  Minnesota  at  the  Yellow  Medicine  and  fol- 
low the  main  body  of  the  Indians  in  whatever  direction  they 
have  gone.  There  are  still  small  parties  lurking  about  here, 
but  I  do  not  think  that  the  Indians  are  in  force  this  side  of 
the  river.  I  have  had  parties  out  as  far  as  the  Yellow  Medi- 
cine. They  saw  nothing,  but  heard  a  few  shots  fired  in  the 
vicinity,  or  rather  up  the  Yellow  Medicine  river. 

I  sent  out  a  company  of  mounted  men  and  one  of  infantry, 
yesterday,  with  a  burial  party.  They  are  still  out,  and  up  to 
last  evening  they  had  interred  forty-one  (41)  bodies,  mostly 
those  of  men,  including  probably  those  under  Captain  Marsh's 
command  who  were  killed  at  the  ferry. 

The  mounted  men  have  to-day  crossed  to  the  Lower  Agency 
to  examine  matteis  there,  while  the  infantry  proceed  up  on 
this  side  of  the  river,  to  examine  the  country  thoroughly.  The 
dead  were  so  much  decomposed  as  to  render  recognition  im- 
possible. 


APPENDIX.  459 

I  trust  more  cartridges  will  soon  arrive,  for  with  all  we 
have,  the  men  will  be  furnished  with  less  than  forty  (40) 
rounds  each,  much  too  small  a  number  for  an  extended  expe- 
dition into  the  Indian  country.  We  have  no  means  of  baking 
the  flour,  which  is  very  annoying.  Hard  bread  should,  by 
all  means,  be  sent.  I  have  already  pressed  upon  you  the 
necessity  of  having  forwarded,  as  expeditiously  as  possible, 
clothing,  blankets,  etc. 

I  have  dispatched  orders  to  Captain  Rogers  of  the  Seventh, 
to  report  at  !N'ew  Ulm  and  be  directed  by  Captain  Flandrau. 
Captain  Davis'  company  is  also  there,  and  Captain  Edger- 
ton's  company  is  at  the  Winnebago  Agency.  I  have  advices 
from  the  latter  up  to  yesterday,  in  which  he  informs  me  that 
all  was  quiet  at  the  agency. 

H.  H.  Sibley, 
Colonel,  Commanding  Indian  Expedition. 


BATTLE  OF  BIRCH  COOLIE,  AUGUST  31,  1862. 


Headquarters  Indian  Expedition, 

September  4,  1862. 
Adjutant  General  0.  Malmros,  St.  Paul, 

Sir:  I  have  received  two  several  dispatches  from  Gov- 
ernor Ramsey  of  first  instant,  one  of  which  regards  the  dis- 
position of  some  of  the  forces  under  my  command,  which  I 
will  endeavor  to  comply  with  so  far  as  I  deem  it  prudent  to 
do  so.  In  fact,  the  region  at  New  Ulm  and  its  vicinity  is 
already  in  possession  of  Captain  Davis'  and  Captain  Rogers' 
companies,  which  I  dispatched  there,  to  aid  Captain  Flan- 
drau in  the  defense  of  the  line,  and  I  will  co-operate  with 
them  from  this  side  so  far  as  it  is  possible  to  do  so.  I  will 
dismiss  the  allusion  to  a  possible  treaty  or  negotiation  with 
the  miserable  wretches  who  have  murdered  our  people  and 
devastated  our  frontier  by  stating  that  neither  suggestion, 
nor  idea  nor  supposition  of  any  such  arrangement  has  ever 
been  made  or  conceived,  so  far  as  I  know,  by  any  man  in 
this  camp.  The  absurd  rumors  spread  by  the  men,  who  in 
most  cases  basely  deserted  this  corps  as  it  was  about  to  en- 
counter the  enemy,  were,  at  least  so  far  as  any  treaty  ar- 


460  APPENDIX. 

rangements  was  conceived,  without  a  shadow  of  foundation 
in  fact.  I  wish  this  assertion  to  be  taken  as  absolute  and 
without  foundation. 

I  have  to  report  the  particulars  of  a  sad  affair,  which 
has  been  attended  with  extraordinary  fatality  to  a  j)ortion 
of  my  command,  on  Thursday,  thirty-first  ultimo.  After 
having  previously  taken  measures  by  sending  through  as  far 
as  the  Yellow  Medicine  scouts  entirely  reliable  to  ascertain 
whether  the  country  was  free  from  Indians,  and  none  having 
been  seen,  nor  any  trace  of  them  found,  I  dispatched  Captain 
Grant,  with  his  company  of  seventy-five  men  of  the  Sixth 
regiment,  fifty-five  men  of  the  mounted  volunteer  force  under 
the  command  of  Captain  Joseph  Anderson,  and  an  armed 
burial  party  of  twenty  men,  in  all  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty- three  men,  the  whole  under  the  command  of  Major  J. 
E.  Brown,  with  orders  to  proceed  to  the  scene  of  the  late 
butcheries,  collect  and  inter  the  remains,  and  search  for  any 
survivors  that  might  perchance  be  roaming  through  the  coun- 
try. The  further  orders  given  to  Major  J.  R.  Brown  were  to 
avoid  any  pass  or  defile  where  they  might  be  waylaid  or  am- 
bushed, to  use  every  precaution  against  Indian  treachery,  and 
after  having  performed  the  duties  devolved  upon  him  to  re- 
join my  forces  either  here  or  at  Birch  Coolie,  about  eighteen 
miles  from  here,  whither  I  expected  to  move  on  the  succeed- 
ing day.  On  the  day  succeeding  their  departure  I  heard  from 
them  through  Mr.  Myrick  and  others,  who  informed  me  that 
they  were  proceeding  actively  in  the  interment  of  the  dead 
bodies,  having  already  disposed  of  sixty-nine  in  all.  On  the 
morning  of  the  second,  I  was  startled  by  the  reports  of  vol- 
leys of  musketry  in  the  distance,  in  the  direction  where  the 
detachment  was  supposed  to  be.  I  immediately  dispatched 
Major  McLaren,  with  three  companies  of  the  Sixth  regi- 
ment, a  detachment  of  mounted  men,  and  two  pieces  of  artil- 
lery, to  the  relief  of  Major  Brown,  the  whole  being  under  the 
command  of  Colonel  McPhail,  with  orders  to  proceed  at  once 
to  the  camp  of  Major  Brown,  wherever  he  might  be  found. 
I  received  a  message  from  Colonel  McPhail  in  the  evening, 
stating  that  he  had  not  been  able  to  join  Major  Brown,  but 
was  then  nearly  surrounded,  witli  his  command,  by  the  In- 
dians, who  were  giving  indications  of  hostilities.  I  imme- 
diately placcid  the  remainder  of  my  forces  under  arms  and 
marched  to  their  rescue.     I  joined  them  during  the  night, 


APPENDIX.  4G1 

and  early  in  the  morning,  with  the  force  thns  united,  I  pro- 
ceeded toward  the  spot,  some  miles  distant,  where  the  con- 
tinuous rattle  of  musketry  showed  the  camp  of  Major  Brown 
to  be.  As  I  crossed  the  prairie  toward  the  timber,  the  In- 
dians deployed  as  skirmishers  to  resist  my  advance,  but,  hav- 
ing protected  my  flank  from  attack,  I  deployed  my  advance 
guard  of  three  companies  and  advanced.  A  brisk  firing  at 
long  range  ensued  on  both  sides,  but  with  no  loss  to  us,  and 
but  the  loss  of  one  man  to  the  Indians,  killed  or  wounded. 
As  I  marched  they  commenced  a  general  retreat  along  their 
line,  and  I  reached  the  camp  of  Major  Brown,  to  find  the 
shocking  sight  of  dead  and  wounded  men  and  dead  and 
struggling  horses  strewn  through  the  camp.  The  attack 
commenced  on  Major  Brown's  camp,  at  daylight,  by  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  Indians,  on  the  morning  of  the  second. 
Our  loss  was  thirteen  killed  and  three  mortally  wounded, 
and  forty-four  more  or  less  seriously  injured,  including  Ma- 
jor Brown  and  Captain  Anderson,  the  latter  having  received 
two  wounds.  I  proceeded  to  inter  the  dead  —  thirteen  in 
number  —  and  to  remove  the  wounded  men  to  this  post  for 
surgical  care.  I  arrived  here  with  my  whole  force  at  mid- 
night last  night,  and  shall  remain  no  longer  than  is  necessary 
to  completely  organize  and  equip  the  expedition  to  pursue 
the  Indians.  The  unfortunate  issue  of  the  movement  referred 
to  has  added  another  to  the  list  of  crimes  committed  by  this 
league  of  fiends.  I  will  send  you  Major  Brown's  detailed 
report  of  the  affair  as  soon  as  received. 

I  have  learned,  with  pain,  that  much  dissatisfaction  exists 
below  in  consequence  of  the  unavoidable  delays  in  fitting 
the  expedition  for  field  service.  I  am  therefore  anxious  to 
relieve  your  administration  of  any  embarrassment  connected 
with  the  affair.  I  hereby  place  my  commission  at  your  dis- 
posal, and  shall  be  glad  to  turn  over  my  command  to  some 
person  to  be  selected  by  the  commander-in-chief,  in  whose 
military  training  and  experience  the  people  of  the  state  will 
|)erhaps  feel  more  confidence. 

Yours  Respectful  ly, 

H.  H.  Sibley, 
Colonel^  Commanding  Indian  Expedition. 


462  APPENDIX. 


Fort  Eidgley,  September  4,  1862. 
Colonel  H.  H.  Sihley,  Commanding  Expedition  in  Sioux  Country, 

Sir  :  In  compliance  with  your  order,  I  left  the  encamp- 
ment at  this  post,  on  the  morning  of  August  31,  1862,  to  visit 
the  different  settlements  between  this  post  and  Beaver  river, 
to  search  for  and  bury  all  persons  that  could  be  found  mur- 
dered, and  at  the  same  time,  to  examine  the  country  about 
the  Lower  Sioux  Agency  and  Little  Crow's  village,  to  mark 
all  indications  of  the  movement  of  the  Indians,  and  the  course 
taken  by  them  in  their  retreat. 

Captain  Grant's  Company  A,  Sixth  regiment;  Captain  An- 
derson's company  of  mounted  men,  several  volunteers  from 
the  officers  of  the  expedition,  a  fatigue  party  of  twenty  men, 
and  seventeen  teamsters,  with  their  teams,  formed  the  force 
of  the  detachment. 

On  the  thirty-first  of  August,  the  detachment  moved  in  a 
body  and  encamped  on  the  Minnesota  bottom,  at  the  mouth 
of  Birch  Coolie  and  opposite  the  Lower  Sioux  Agency,  hav- 
ing found  and  buried  sixteen  corpses  during  the  day. 

On  the  first  of  September,  the  detachment  marched  in  a 
body  to  the  river  bank,  when  the  mounted  company,  with  one 
team  and  eight  of  the  fatigue  party,  accompanied  me  across 
the  river,  under  the  protection  of  the  infantry.  After  search- 
ing around  the  agency,  and  becoming  satisfied  there  were  no 
Indians  in  the  vicinity,  Captain  Grant  was  directed  to  remain 
with  his  company,  and  twelve  of  the  fatigue  party,  and  sixteen 
teams  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  to  bury  what  murdered 
persons  could  be  found  at  the  crossing  and  at  the  settlements, 
as  far  as  Beaver  river,  and  from  the  Beaver  river  to  return 
to  the  upper  timber  on  the  Birch  Coolie,  and  encamp. 

I  proceeded  with  that  portion  of  the  detachment  that  had 
crossed  the  river,  to  bury  the  dead  about  the  agency,  and 
then  proceeded  to  Little  Crow's  village,  and  from  there  I  went 
alone  to  where  the  road  leading  to  the  Coteau  de  Prairie  di- 
verges from  the  Yellow  Medicine  road,  to  ascertain  whether 
the  Indians  had  gone  to  the  coteau,  or  continued  up  the  Min- 
nesota, toward  the  Yellow  Medicine. 

Tiie  road  and  the  camps  about  Little  Crow's  village  indi- 
cated that  the  main  body  of  the  Indians  had  an  immense  bag- 
gage train,  which  had  gone  forward  about  six  days  previous, 


APPENDIX.  463 

and  a  smaller  baggage  train,  coming  from  the  lower  part  of 
the  reservation,  liad  gone  forward  two  days  subsequently, 
the  entire  force  keeping  the  Yellow  Medicine  road. 

In  all  our  examinations,  no  signs  could  be  found  about  the 
village,  along  the  road,  or  at  the  river  crossing,  near  the  vil- 
lage, that  any  Indians  had  been  in  the  vicinity  for  the  four 
days  previous.  This  was  the  united  oj^inion  of  Major  Galbraith, 
Messrs.  Alex.  Faribault,  Geo.  Faribault,  and  J.  J.  Frazier 
(who  were  among  the  volunteers),  and  myself;  and,  as  the 
Indians,  when  encamjaed  near  their  villages,  invariably  visit 
them  frequently,  the  general  supposition  was,  that  upon  learn- 
ing the  approach  of  troops,  the  Lower  Indians  had  gone  up  to 
join  the  Yellow  Medicine  Indians,  that  they  might  subsequently 
act  in  concert  in  their  defense  against  the  troops,  or  in  their 
movement  west. 

Having  accomplished  the  object  of  my  visit  to  Little  Crow's 
village,  I  proceeded  to  the  ford,  near  that  village,  and  re- 
crossed  the  Minnesota  river,  and,  near  sunset,  reached  the 
encampment  selected  by  Captain  Grant,  near  the  upper  tim- 
ber of  the  Birch  Coolie,  and  about  three  miles  from  the  Lower 
Agency, 

The  two  divisions  of  the  detachment  buried,  during  this 
day,  fifty-four  murdered  persons.  Captain  Grant  found  a  wo- 
man who  was  still  alive,  although  she  had  been  almost  en- 
tirely without  sustenance  for  fourteen  days,  and  was  severely 
wounded.  She  escaped  from  the  massacre  at  Patterson's 
Eapids. 

This  camp  was  made  in  the  usual  way,  on  the  smooth  prairie, 
some  two  hundred  yards  from  the  timber  of  Birch  Coolie, 
with  the  wagons  packed  around  the  camp,  and  the  team  horses 
fastened  to  the  wagons.  The  horses  belonging  to  the  mounted 
men  were  fastened  to  a  stout  picket  rope,  between  the  tents 
and  wagons,  around  the  south  half  of  the  camp  —  Captain 
Anderson's  tents  being  behind  his  horses,  and  Captain  Grant's 
tents  being  inside  the  wagons  which  formed  the  north  half  of 
the  camp. 

A  guard  of  thirty  men  and  two  non-commissioned  officers 
was  detailed  and  organized  —  ten  sentinels  being  stationed 
about  thirty  yards  from  the  wagons,  at  intervals,  around  the 
camp,  with  instructions  to  keep  a  good  lookout,  and  report 
any  noise  or  other  indications  of  the  approach  of  Indians. 

Nothing  was  reported  from  the  guard,  until  half  past  four 


464  APPENDIX. 

o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  September  2d,  when  one  of  the 
guard  called  out,  "Indians!"  and  almost  instantly  afterward 
a  shower  of  balls  fell  upon  the  camp.  The  firing,  for  probably 
a  minute,  was  entirely  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  during 
which  time  many  of  our  men  were  either  killed  or  wounded; 
but  the  mortality  among  the  men,  at  that  time,  was,  by  no 
means,  as  severe  as  might  be  supposed,  owing  to  the  protec- 
tion afforded  by  the  horses. 

Captain  Anderson  and  his  company  promptly  availed  them- 
selves of  the  protection  afforded  by  the  wagons  near  him,  and 
opened  fire  upon  the  Indians. 

Captain  Grant's  company  and  the  fatigue  party  promptly 
seized  their  arms,  and  commenced  firing;  but  they,  for  some 
minutes,  continued  to  expose  themselves,  imprudently,  and 
consequently  were  very  much  cut  to  pieces.  After  the  entire 
detachment  became  settled  under  the  shelter  of  the  wagons 
and  dead  horses,  but  few  were  killed  or  wounded,  and  the  close 
firing  on  our  side  soon  caused  the  Indians  to  withdraw  to  the 
shelter  of  the  woods. 

After  the  withdrawal  of  the  Indians,  the  construction  of 
rifle-pits  was  commenced  in  different  parts  of  the  camp,  which, 
although  the  men  worked  with  a  will,  i>rogressed  slowly, 
owing  to  the  hardness  of  the  soil,  and  the  want  of  proper 
tools.  Three  sjoades,  one  pick,  bayonets,  tin  pans,  etc.,  con- 
stituted our  means  for  excavation;  and  yet  rifle-pits  to  the 
extent  of  about  two  hundred  feet  in  length  were  completed. 
From  the  time  the  first  rifle-pit  was  commenced,  but  one  man 
was  killed  and  two  wounded,  although  the  fire  of  the  Indians 
was  continued  until  the  arrival  of  reinforcements. 

Although  the  Indians  had  great  advantages  over  us  in  the 
early  part  of  the  engagement,  I  think  that  the  mortality  on 
our  side,  fearful  as  it  was,  did  not  exceed  that  of  the  Indians, 
judging  by  the  numbers  they  carried  across  the  prairie  from 
the  timber  from  which  they  fired.  Our  men  were  cool,  and 
had  oi'ders  to  discharge  their  pieces  only  when  a  prospect  of 
hitting  a  foe  was  presented. 

About  two  o'(;lock,  on  the  second  of  September,  the  report  of 
a  cannon,  wiiich  we  were  confident  was  discharged  by  friends 
approaching  to  our  relief,  was  hailed  with  joy,  and  as  we 
were  then  in  a  condition  to  laugh  at  all  the  attacks  of  Indians 
upon  our  ])Osition,  w(!  i\'M  confident  that  they  would  be  cheated 
of  a  victory  through  starvation  or  thirst. 


APPENDIX.  465 

As  the  reinforcements  advanced,  the  Indians  began  to 
withdraw  from  us,  and  prepare  for  operations  against  the  ap- 
proaching force.  We  could  see  and  hear  the  Indians,  and 
learned  through  them  that  the  force  was  not  large,  and  they 
hoped  to  cut  it  off.  This  gave  us  some  uneasiness,  because 
we  feared  the  troops  might  attempt  to  cross  the  Birch  Coolie 
about  dark;  but  we  soon  learned  they  were  halted,  and  that 
the  Indians  proposed  to  wait  until  morning  to  make  an  at- 
tack uj)on  them.  In  the  morning  of  September  3d,  we  again 
observed  the  maneuvers  of  the  Indians,  and  could  plainly 
hear  their  lamentations  at  the  discovery  that  you  with  your 
entire  force  had  reached  Col.  McPhail's  camp  during  the  night. 
From  that  time,  the  Indians  had  no  hopes  of  either  capturing 
us  or  defeating  the  reinforcements.  Still  they  kept  up  a  fire 
on  us  until  your  van  reached  within  two  or  three  hundred 
yards  of  us. 

The  Indian  force  which  attacked  our  camj)  I  estimate  at 
from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred,  all  well  armed 
and  many  mounted  on  good  horses. 

Inclosed  you  will  find  Captain  Anderson's  report,  detail- 
ing the  force,  operations,  and  casualties  of  his  company.  His 
officers  and  men  (with  the  exceptions  he  indicates)  acted  with 
the  utmost  coolness  and  courage.  The  captain,  although  twice 
severely  wounded,  continued  in  active  command  of  his  com- 
pany until  your  reinforcements  reached  our  camp.  To  the 
prompt  movements  and  energetic  action  of  himself,  and  his 
officers  and  men,  the  early  retreat  of  the  Indians  from  the 
prairie  is  in  a  great  measure  due. 

Captain  Grant  rendered  important  service  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  main  line  of  rifle-pits.  Lieutenant  Gillam  of  Cap- 
tain Grant's  company,  with  a  small  party,  located  themselves 
on  the  left  of  Captain  Anderson  early  in  the  fight,  and  did 
gallant  service.  Lieutenant  Baldwin  of  the  same  company  also 
acted  with  cool  courage  in  the  different  portions  of  the  camp 
where  his  duties  called  him.  Lieutenant  Swan  of  the  Third 
infantry  (a  volunteer)  was  in  charge  of  a  party  near  and  on 
the  left  of  Lieutenant  Gillam,  where  he  and  his  party  did  good 
service.  Mr.  Alex.  Faribault,  with  his  son,  J.  Frazier,  and 
other  volunteers,  had  position  on  the  north  portion  of  the 
camp,  where  good  service  was  done  during  the  continuance 
of  the  battle.  Major  Galbraith  and  Captain  Redfield,  both  vol- 
unteers, were  wounded  early  in  the  morning.     Major  Gal- 


466  APPENDIX. 

braith  received  two  wounds,  but  continued  to  assist  in  the 
construction  of  the  rifle-pits.  Lieutenant  Patch  (volunteer) 
and  Sergeant  Pratt  of  Captain  Grant's  company,  also  rendered 
valuable  service  in  the  defense  of  the  western  rifle-pit. 

There  were  wounded,  of  the  volunteers,  in  addition  to  those 
mentioned  above,  Daniel  Blair  and  Warren  DeCamp,  the  latter 
very  severely.  Mr.  J.  C.  Dickenson  of  Henderson,  and  E. 
Henderson  of  Beaver  river,  also  volunteers,  left  the  camp  in 
company  with  four  others  at  the  first  fire,  and  were  probably 
killed.  The  body  of  Mr.  Henderson  was  found  a  short  dis- 
tance from  the  camp. 

Having  received  no  report  from  Captain  Grant,  I  am  un- 
able to  give  the  names  of  the  killed  and  wounded  of  his  com- 
pany, and  the  fatigue  party  attached  to  it. 

There  were  a  few  men  who  behaved  badly,  mostly,  I  think, 
teamsters ;  but  with  these  exceptions,  the  entire  detachment 
acted  with  commendable  coolness  and  courage.  Probably  the 
desire  of  Captain  Grant's  company  to  charge  upon  the  In- 
dians led  to  their  exposure,  consequently  so  many  deaths  and 
wounds.  After  they  took  position  behind  the  wagons  but 
few  casualties  occurred. 

It  is  a  singular  fact,  that  the  woman  found  by  Captain 
Grant  escaped  unhurt,  although  she  lay  in  a  high  wagon,  ex- 
posed to  the  fire  of  the  Indians,  and  which  had  several  balls 
pass  through  it.  The  killed  and  wounded  were  reported  to 
Van  on  the  third  instant,  by  Dr.  Daniels,  who  accompanied 
the  detachment.     That  report  I  believe  to  be  correct. 

Every  horse  belonging  to  the  detachment  was  killed,  ex- 
cepting six,  which  were  left  at  the  camp,  being  wounded  and 
unable  to  travel. 

The  tents  belonging  to  the  detachment  were  perfectly  rid- 
dled, one  having  one  hundred  and  forty  ball  holes  through  it. 
They  are  unfit  for  service.     Very  respectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

Joseph  R.  Brown, 
Major  Third  Minnesota  Volunteer  Militia,  Commanding  Detachment. 


I 


appendix.  467 

Headquarters  in  Camp, 
Near  Fort  Eidgley,  September  5,  1862. 
Adjutant  General  0.  Malmros,  St.  Paul, 

Sir  :  *  *  *  I  am  very  anxious  to  secure  the  safety  of 
the  mauy  prisoners  before  attacking  the  camp,  as  they  will 
doubtless  be  placed  in  the  most  exposed  situation.  The  num- 
ber of  fighting  men  among  the  Lower  bands  is  617,  acceding 
the  actual  enumeration  of  Wakpatons  about  250,  and  that  they 
have  been  reinforced  by  600  men  from  the  Yankton  and  Sis- 
seton  bands,  and  that  the  Eyanktonas  or  Cut-Heads  will  be 
down  as  soon  as  they  arrive  from  their  hunt.  We  have  there- 
fore to  meet,  according  to  Mr.  Riggs  and  another  competent 
authority,  2, 700  or  2,800  men,  and  I  have,  from  the  beginning, 
believed  and  acted  upon  this  conviction,  that  the  Lower  bands 
would  not  attempt  to  escape,  but  would  make  a  determined 
stand.  Their  main  camp  is  at  Yellow  Medicine,  and  it  is  said 
by  the  Robinsons  that  the  Upper  Sioux  have  refused  to  allow 
them  to  go  to  the  country,  but  tell  them  that  they  must  fight 
where  they  are.  From  what  I  can  gather,  I  am  satisfied  they 
will  make  a  desperate  fight,  and  that  we  must  expect  night  at- 
tacks, ambushes,  and  every  species  of  annoyance  in  our  ad- 
vance. In  view  of  the  great  importance  of  the  results  of  the 
movements  of  this  column,  and  the  fact  that  I  am  without 
any  disposable  form  of  mounted  men  (there  are  not  more  than 
sixty  or  seventy  left),  I  must  urge  the  absolute  necessity  of 
having  cavalry  fully  armed  and  equipped,  to  the  number  at 
least  of  one  regiment,  and  the  infantry  force  increased  to 
2,000  men. 

This  expedition,  if  properly  supplied  with  men  and  ma- 
terials, can  crush  this  emeute  at  a  blow,  and  wipe  out  the 
murderers,  but  should  it  meet  with  rei)ulse,  or  take  the  field 
against  a  vigilant  and  desperate  enemy  without  sufficient  sup- 
plies, no  one  can  see  the  horrible  results. 

The  scouts,  as  well  as  the  bearers  of  the  flag  of  truce,  as- 
sert that  all  outlying  parties  have  been  called  in,  in  view  of 
the  menacing  position  of  our  corps,  and  the  latter  further 
state  that  the  party  that  attacked  Major  Brown's  camp  consis- 
ted of  349  men,  who  left  the  Yellow  Medicine  with  the  in- 
tention of  dividing  into  two  parties  at  this  point,  and  simul- 
taneously attacking  St.  Peter  and  Mankato,  and  that  they  had 
no  idea  of  the  force  that  met  and  repulsed  them  being  in  the 
neighborhood. 


468  APPENDIX. 

I  hope  that  the  Third  regiment  will  be  ordered  to  join  this 
column  at  once,  and  that  men  and  cartridges,  rations  and 
clothing,  will  be  pressed  forward  with  all  expedition.  Let  us 
exterminate  these  vermin  while  we  have  them  together. 

I  will  report  to  you  in  my  next  the  amount  and  descrip- 
tion of  ammunition  on  hand,  and  what  is  still  wanting. 

In  accordance  with  your  suggestion,  I  have  sent  to  New 
Ulm  eighty-three  muskets  of  different  kinds  and  2,800  cart- 
ridges, which  have  been  turned  over  to  the  sheriff  of  the 
county  for  arming  the  settlers. 

I  learn  from  Colonel  Flandrau  that  he  would  leave  for  St. 
Paul  to  hurry  up  reinforcements  and  supplies  for  the  south 
side  of  the  river. 

While  I  concur  in  his  report  of  the  necessity  of  adding  to 
his  strength,  I  hope  that  you  will  not  forget  that,  in  all  proba- 
bility, this  corps  must  meet  the  main  attack,  and  that  the 
Third  regiment,  being  disciplined,  is  indispensable  as  a  nu- 
cleus and  an  example  to  the  entirely  raw  officers  and  men 
composing  the  large  majority  of  the  Sixth  and  Seventh  regi- 
ments. 

H.  H.  Sibley, 

Colonel,  Commanding  Military  Expedition. 


BATTLE  OF  WOOD  LAKE. 


Wood  Lake,  near  Yellow  Medicine, 
September  23,  1862. 
To  His  Excellency,  Governor  Ramsey, 

SiK:  I  left  the  camp  at  Fort  Eidgley  on  the  nineteenth  in- 
stant, with  my  command,  and  reached  this  point  early  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  twenty-second.  There  have  been  small  parties 
of  Indians  each  day  in  plain  sight,  evidently  acting  as  scouts  for 
the  main  body.  This  morning  I  had  determined  to  cross  the 
Yellow  Medicine  river,  about  three  miles  distant,  and  there 
await  the  ariival  of  Captain  Kogers'  company  of  the  Seventh 
regiment,  which  was  ordered  by  me  from  New  Ulm,  to  join 
me  by  a  forced  march,  the  presence  of  the  company  there 
V)eing  unn<'C(;Hsary  by  the  arrival  there  of  another  company,  a 
few  days  i^revious. 


APPENDIX.  469 

About  seven  o'clock  this  morning  the  camp  was  attacked 
by  about  three  hundred  Indians,  who  suddenly  made  their 
appearance  and  dashed  down  toward  us,  whooping  and  yell- 
ing in  their  usual  style,  and  firing  with  great  rapidity. 

The  Renville  Guards,  under  Lieutenant  Gorman,  were  sent 
by  me  to  check  them,  and  Major  Welch  of  the  Third  regi- 
ment was  instantly  in  line  with  his  command,  with  his  skir- 
mishers in  the  advance,  by  whom  the  savages  were  gallantly 
met,  and  after  a  conflict  of  a  serious  nature,  repulsed. 

Meanwhile  another  portion  of  the  Indian  force  passed  down 
a  ravine  on  the  right,  with  a  view  to  outflank  the  Third  regi- 
ment, and  I  ordered  Lieutenant  Colonel  Marshall,  with  five 
companies  of  the  Seventh  regiment,  and  who  was  ably  second- 
ed by  Major  Bradley,  to  advance  to  its  support,  with  one  six- 
pounder  under  the  command  of  Captain  Hendricks,  and  I  also 
ordered  two  companies  of  the  Sixth  regiment  to  reinforce 
him. 

Lieutenant  Colonel  Marshall  advanced  at  a  double-quick, 
amidst  a  shower  of  balls  from  the  enemy,  which,  fortunately, 
did  little  damage  to  his  command;  and  after  a  few  volleys  he 
led  his  men  to  a  charge  and  cleared  the  ravine  of  the  savages. 

Major  McLaren,  with  Captain  Wilson's  company,  took  po- 
sition on  the  extreme  left  of  the  camp,  where  he  kept  at  bay 
a  party  of  the  enemy  who  were  endeavoring  to  gain  the  rear 
of  the  camp,  and  finally  drove  them  back. 

The  battle  raged  for  about  two  hours,  the  six-pounder  and 
mountain  howitzer  being  used  with  great  effect,  when  the  In- 
dians, repulsed  at  all  points  with  great  loss,  retired  with  great 
precipitation. 

I  regret  to  state  that  many  casualties  occurred  on  our  side. 
The  gallant  Major  Welch  was  badly  wounded  in  the  leg,  and 
Captain  Wilson  of  the  Sixth  regiment  was  severely  bruised 
by  a  nearly  spent  ball  in  the  shoulder.  Four  of  our  men  were 
killed,  and  between  thirty  and  forty  wounded,  most  of  them, 
I  am  rejoiced  to  say,  not  severely. 

The  loss  of  the  enemy,  according  to  the  statement  of  a  half- 
breed  named  Joseph  Cami)bell,  who  visited  the  camp  under  a 
flag  of  truce,  was  thirty  killed  and  a  large  number  wounded. 
We  found  and  buried  fourteen  of  the  bodies,  and  as  the  habit 
of  the  Indians  is  to  carry  off  the  bodies  of  their  slain,  it  is 
not  probable  that  the  sum  told  by  Campbell  was  exaggerated. 

The  severe  chastisement  inflicted  upon  them  has  so  far  sub- 


470  APPENDIX. 

dued  their  ardor  that  they  sent  a  flag  of  truce  into  the  camp 
to  express  the  seutimeut  of  the  Wahpetons,  composing  a  part 
of  the  attacking  force,  and  to  state  that  they  were  not  strong 
enough  to  fight  us,  and  desired  peace,  with  i^ermissiou  to  take 
away  their  dead  and  wounded.  I  replied  that  when  the  pris- 
oners were  delivered  up  it  would  be  time  enough  to  talk  of 
j)eace,  and  that  I  would  not  grant  them  permission  either  to 
take  their  dead  or  wounded. 

I  am  assured  by  Campbell  that  there  is  serious  depression 
in  the  Indian  camp, — many  having  been  opposed  to  the  war, 
but  driven  into  the  field  by  the  more  violent.  He  further  stated 
that  eight  hundred  Indians  were  assembled  at  the  Yellow  Medi- 
cine, within  two  miles  of  the  camp,  but  that  the  greater  part 
took  no  part  in  the  fight.  The  intention  of  Little  Crow  was 
to  attack  us  last  night,  but  he  was  overruled  by  others,  who 
told  him  if  he  was  a  brave  man  he  ought  to  fight  the  white 
man  by  daylight.  I  am  fully  prepared  against  night  attack, 
should  it  be  attemj)ted,  although  I  think  the  lesson  received 
by  them  to-day  will  make  them  very  cautious  for  the  future. 

I  have  already  adverted  to  the  courage  and  skill  of  Lieu- 
tenant Colonel  Marshall,  and  Majors  Welch  and  Bradley,  to 
which  I  beg  leave  to  add  those  of  the  officers  and  men  under 
their  respective  commands.  Lieutenant  Colonel  Averill  and 
Major  McLaren  were  equally  prompt  in  their  movements  in 
preparing  the  Sixth  regiment  for  action,  and  were  both  under 
fire  for  some  time.  Captains  Grant  and  Bromley  shared  the 
dangers  of  the  field  with  Lieutenant  Colonel  Marshall's  com- 
mand, while  Captain  Wilson,  with  his  command,  rendered 
efficient  service.  The  other  companies  of  the  Sixth  regiment 
were  not  engaged,  having  been  held  in  position  to  defend  the 
rear  of  the  camp,  but  it  was  difficult  to  restrain  their  ardor, 
so  anxious  were  officers  and  men  to  share  with  their  comrades 
the  perils  of  the  field.  To  Lieutenant  Colonel  Fowler,  my  A. 
A.  A.  G.,  I  have  been  greatly  indebted  for  aid  in  all  my  move- 
ments, his  military  knowledge  and  ability  beiug  invaluable  to 
me,  and  his  assistance  in  to-day's  affair  particularly  so.  To 
Major  Forbes,  Messrs.  Patch,  Greig,  and  McLeod,  of  my  staff, 
who  carried  my  orders,  I  must  also  acknowledge  myself  under 
obligations  for  their  activity  and  zeal,  while  to  Major  Brown, 
also  of  juy  staff,  tliough  suffering  from  illness,  it  would  be 
injustice  not  to  state  that  he  aided  me  materially  by  his  exer- 
tions and  advice.     Tlic  medical  staff  of  the  several  regiments 


APPENDIX.  471 

were  cool  and  expert  in  rendering  their  professional  aid  to 
the  wounded.  Assistant  Surgeon  Seigneuret,  attached  to  my 
staff,  is  to  be  commended  for  his  skill  and  diligence. 

I  am  very  much  in  want  of  bread  rations,  six-pounder  am- 
munition, and  shells  for  the  howitzer,  and  unless  soon  sup- 
plied I  shall  be  compelled  to  fall  back,  which,  under  present 
circumstances,  would  be  a  calamity,  as  it  would  aftbrd  time 
for  the  escape  of  the  Indians  with  their  captives.  I  hope  a 
large  body  of  cavalry  is,  before  this,  on  their  way  to  join  us. 
If  I  had  been  provided  with  five  hundred  of  this  description 
of  force  to-day,  I  venture  the  assertion  that  I  could  have  killed 
the  greater  part  of  the  Indians,  and  brought  the  campaign  to 
a  successful  close. 

Eev.  Mr.  Riggs,  chaj)lain  of  the  expedition,  so  well  known 
for  his  knowledge  of  the  character  and  language  of  the  In- 
dians, has  been  of  great  service  to  me  since  he  joined  my  com- 
mand. 

I  inclose  the  official  report  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Marshall. 
I  omitted  to  mention  Lieutenant  Gorman  and  his  corps  of 
Eenville  Rangers.  They  have  been  extremely  useful  to  me  by 
their  courage  and  skill  as  skirmishers.  Captain  Hendricks  and 
his  artillerists  won  deserved  praise  to-day,  and  Captain  Ster- 
rett,  with  his  small  but  gallant  corps  of  cavalry,  twenty-seven 
in  number,  did  good  service  also. 

I  send  reports  of  the  several  surgeons,  embracing  lists  of 
the  killed  and  wounded.^    Very  respectfully. 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

H.  H.  Sibley, 

Colonel,  Commanding. 


Headquarteks  Wood  Lake  Camp, 

September  24,  1862. 
Ma-sa-ka-tame,  Taopee,  and  Wa-Jce-nan  nan-te,  at  Red  Irons  Vil- 
lage, 

My  Friends:  I  call  you  so,  because  I  have  reason  to  believe 
that  you  have  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  cruel  murders  and 
massacres  that  have  been  committed  upon  the  poor  white  peo- 
ple who  had  placed  confidence  in  the  friendship  of  the  Sioux 
Indians.  I  repeat,  what  I  have  already  stated  to  you,  that  I 
have  not  come  to  make  war  upon  those  who  are  innocent,  but 

1  War  of  the  Rebellion,  Series  I.,  Vol.  XIII.,  pp.  278-2S0. 


472  APPENDIX. 

upon  the  guilty.  I  have  waited  here  one  day,  and  intended  to 
wait  still  another  day  to  hear  from  the  friendly  half-breeds 
and  Indians,  because  I  feared  that  if  I  advanced  my  troops 
before  you  could  make  your  arrangements  the  war  party  would 
murder  the  prisoners. 

Now  that  I  learn  from  Joseph  Campbell  that  most  of  the 
captives  are  in  safety  in  our  camp  I  shall  move  on  to-morrow, 
so  that  you  may  expect  to  see  me  very  soon.  Have  a  white 
flag  displayed  so  that  my  men  may  not  fire  upon  you.  ^ 

Your  Friend, 

H.  H.  Sibley, 

Colonel,  Commanding. 


Headquarters  Wood  Lake, 

September  24,  1862. 
Ta-tanM-nazin,  Cliief  of  the  Sisseton-wans  and  Tah-ton  ka-na-ken- 
yan,  Soldiers  of  Wa-na-tams  Band,  Bed  Irons  Village: 
If  you  are  the  friends  of  your  Great  American  Father  you 
are  my  friends  also.  I  have  not  come  up  to  make  war  upon 
any  bands  who  have  not  been  concerned  in  the  horrible  mur- 
ders upon  the  white  people,  who  depended  upon  the  good  faith 
of  the  Indians.  You  would  do  well,  therefore,  to  advise  your 
bands  not  to  mix  yourselves  together  with  the  bands  that  have 
been  guilty  of  these  outrages,  for  I  do  not  wish  to  injure  any 
innocent  person;  but  I  intend  to  pursue  the  wicked  murderers 
with  fire  and  sword  until  I  overtake  them.  Another  large  body 
of  troops  will  meet  these  bad  men  if  they  attempt  to  escape 
either  to  the  Red  river  or  to  the  Missouri.  Such  of  the  Indians 
as  have  not  had  anything  to  do  with  the  murders  of  the  whites 
will  not  be  injured  by  my  troops;  but,  on  the  contrary,  they 
will  be  protected  by  me  when  I  arrive,  which  will  be  very 
soon.  Those  who  are  our  friends  mnst  raise  a  white  Hag  when 
they  see  me  approaching,  that  I  may  be  able  to  know  my 
friends  from  my  enemies.  Take  these  words  to  your  bands, 
that  they  may  know  that  they  are  in  safety  as  long  as  they 
remain  friends  of  your  Great  Father.  ^ 

Yonr  Friend, 

H.  H.  Sibley, 
Colonel,  Commanding  Military  Expedition. 

1  War  of  the  rU'h.-llion,  Oflicial  KecorU.s,  Scries  I.,  Vol.  XIII.,  pp.  r,r,i;,  (507. 

2  Jl)l(l.,  p.  007. 


appendix.  473 

Camp  Eelease,  opposite  Mouth  of  Chippewa  Kiver, 

September  27,  1862. 
General  Pope,  St.  Paul, 

General  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  your 
dispatch  of  nineteenth  [seventeenth?]  instant.  It  reached  me 
last  evening  by  Colonel  Crooks.  In  reply  you  will  permit  me 
to  remark  that  celerity  of  movement  cannot  well  take  place 
when  my  troops  are  entirely  unsupplied  with  sufficient  rations 
and  are  necessitated  to  dig  potatoes  from  the  Indian  fields  to 
supply  the  want  of  breadstuffs. 

Yesterday  I  came  to  this  point  with  my  command,  having 
been  met  by  several  half-breeds  with  a  flag  of  truce.  I  en- 
camped within  five  hundred  yards  of  a  large  camp  of  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  lodges  of  friendly  Indians  and  half- 
breeds,  who  had  separated  themselves  from  Little  Crow  and 
the  miserable  crew  with  him,  and  had  rescued  from  them  most 
of  the  white  captives  awaiting  my  arrival. 

About  two  o'  clock  in  the  afternoon  I  paid  a  formal  visit  to 
this  camp,  attended  by  the  members  of  my  staff  and  the  com- 
manding officers  of  corps,  with  two  companies  of  infantry  as 
an  escort. 

Leaving  the  latter  on  the  outside  of  the  line  of  lodges  I  en- 
tered the  camp,  where  I  found  that  regular  rifle-pits  had  been 
constructed,  in  anticipation  of  an  attack  by  the  hostile  In- 
dians. I  told  the  interpreter  to  call  the  chiefs  and  headmen 
together,  for  I  had  something  to  say  to  them.  The  Indians 
and  half-breeds  assembled  accordingly  in  considerable  num- 
bers, and  I  proceeded  to  give  them  very  briefly  my  views  of 
the  late  proceedings;  my  determination  that  the  guilty  par- 
ties should  be  pursued  and  overtaken,  if  possible,  and  I  made 
a  demand  that  all  the  captives  should  be  delivered  to  me  in- 
stantly, that  I  might  take  them  to  my  camp.  After  speeches, 
in  which  they  severely  condemned  the  war  party  and  denied 
any  participation  in  their  proceedings  and  gave  me  assurance 
that  they  would  not  have  dared  to  come  and  shake  my  hand 
if  their  own  were  stained  with  the  blood  of  the  whites,  they 
assembled  the  captive  women  and  children,  and  formally  de- 
livered them  up  to  me,  and  among  the  number  ninety-one  pure 
whites.  When  taking  the  names  of  such  as  had  been  instru- 
mental in  obtaining  the  release  of  the  prisoners  from  the  hos- 


474  APPENDIX. 

tile  Indians  and  telling  the  principal  men  I  would  hold  another 
council  with  them  to-day,  I  conducted  the  poor  captives  to  my 
camp,  where  I  had  prepared  tents  for  their  accommodation. 
There  were  some  instances  of  stolidity  among  them,  but  for  the 
most  part  the  poor  creatures,  relieved  of  the  horrible  suspense 
in  which  they  have  been  left,  and  some  of  the  younger  women 
freed  from  the  loathsome  attentions  to  which  they  had  been 
subjected  by  their  brutal  captors,  were  fairly  overwhelmed  with 
joy.  I  am  doing  the  best  I  can  for  them,  and  will  send  them 
down  to-day,  together  with  a  large  number  of  half-breeds,  who 
have  been  also  kept  in  restraint  here.  The  first  mentioned  are 
pure  white  women  and  children,  two  or  three  of  the  latter 
being  very  small  orphans,  all  their  relatives  having  been  killed. 
A  list  of  them  will  accompany  this  communication. 

After  the  disastrous  result  to  himself  [Little  Crow]  and 
the  bands  associated  with  him  at  the  battle  of  Wood  Lake  the 
half-breeds  report  that  falling  back  to  this  point  they  hastily 
struck  their  tents  and  commenced  retreating  in  great  terror. 

I  must  now  await  the  arrival  of  a  provision  train  from 
below,  and  it  may  not  reach  me  for  three  or  four  days,  in  which 
case  my  command  will  be  reduced  to  the  verge  of  starvation. 

In  conclusion.  General,  as  I  have  accomplished  two  of  the 
objects  of  the  expedition,  to-wit,  checking  and  beating  the 
Indians  and  relieving  the  settlements,  and  secondly,  the  deliv- 
ery of  the  prisoners  held  by  them  (with  a  few  exceptions,  for 
it  seems  the  hostile  party  have  still  a  few  with  them,  sui3posed 
to  be  not  over  twelve  or  fifteen),  I  respectfully  ask  that  you  will 
relieve  me  of  the  command  of  the  expedition,  and  place  at  its 
head  some  one  of  your  officers  who  is  qualified  to  follow  up 
the  advantages  already  gained  and  conduct  it  to  a  successful 
issue.  Having  borne  the  burden  and  fatigue  incident  to  the 
organization  of  the  forces  in  the  field,  and  there  being  nothing 
left  to  do  but  to  follow  up  the  Indians  vigorously  and  exter- 
minate them,  if  possible,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  a  strictly 
militaiy  commander  would  be  better  fitted  for  the  task  than 
myself.  Besides,  my  private  aifaii's  are  left  in  utter  confusion 
and  require  my  presence.  ^ 

^  >}:  ^  '^  t-  :\i  ^ 

I  am,  General,  very  resj^ectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

H.  H.  Sibley. 

1  Il-ia.,!-!..  079,  G80. 


appendix.  475 

Headquarters  Camp  Release, 

September  30,  1862. 
Major  General  John  Pojye,  Commanding  Department  of  the  North- 
west, St.  Paul, 

Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  receipt,  per  Captain 
Atchison,  your  aid-de-carap,  of  your  dispatch  of  twenty-third 
instant,  in  which  you  give  the  assurance  of  protecting  the  rear 
of  this  column  and  furnishing  proper  supiDlies,  both  of  which 
are  not  only  important,  but  indispensable.  The  work  of  the 
military  commission  still  continues,  and  new  developments 
take  place  daily  incriminating  parties  in  the  friendly  camp. 
Indians  are  arrested  daily  on  charges  duly  preferred  by  me, 
but  as  the  j^roceediugs  are  of  course  secret,  it  is  impossible 
now  to  state  how  many  will  be  convicted.  The  camp  would 
be  in  a  starving  state  but  for  the  potatoes  found  in  the  Indian 
fields ;  but  I  learn  that  a  small  provision  train  will  reach  me 
to-morrow,  not  sufficient,  however,  to  justify  a  farther  advance 
into  the  Indian  country.  Little  Crow  and  his  adherents  are 
making  their  escaj>e  as  speedily  as  possible. 

Intelligence  just  received  of  a  reliable  character  states  that 
he  had  already  reached  a  point  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles 
distant  from  this  camp,  so  that  a  pursuit  with  infantry  alone 
is  out  of  the  question.  Unless  a  full  supply  of  provisions  and 
forage,  with  five  hundred  mounted  men  at  least,  can  be  sent  on 
at  once,  the  campaign  may  be  considered  as  closed  for  this 
autumn.  The  grass  is  already  so  dry  as  to  afford  insufficient 
nourishment  to  the  horses  and  cattle,  so  that  grain  cannot  be 
dispensed  with,  and  there  is  none  except  unshelled  corn  on 
this  side  of  Fort  Ridgley. 

Having  been  suffering  from  ill  health  for  several  days  I 
shall  probably  report  myself  in  person  to  you  at  St.  Paul  very 
soon,  in  which  case  I  shall  devolve  the  command  temporarily 
on  Colonel  Crooks  of  the  Sixth  regiment.  This  corps  is  abso- 
lutely at  a  stand  for  the  reasons  stated,  to-wit,  want  of  neces- 
sary provisions  and  forage,  so  that  my  presence  can  well  be 
dispensed  with  after  the  proceedings  of  the  military  com- 
mission have  been  closed,  and  the  friendly  Indians  and  half- 
breeds  dispatched  to  gather  the  crops  of  corn  and  potatoes  in 
the  fields  below. 

The  rescued  captives  of  pure  white  blood,  amounting  in 
number  thus  far  to  exactly  one  hundred,  and  half-breeds  prob- 
ably one  hundred  and  fifty  more,  will  go  down  to-morrow. 


476  APPENDIX. 

There  is  probably  not  a  hostile  Indian  below  this  of  the  Sioux 
tribe,  so  that  I  apprehend  no  further  danger  to  the  settlements 
now.  But  even  if  no  farther  pursuit  of  Little  Crow  can  be 
made  this  fall,  it  will  be  necessary  to  station  strong  garrisons 
at  points  above  Fort  Eidgley,  with  a  sufficient  force  of  mount- 
ed men  to  pursue  and  destroy  any  band  of  prowlers  who  may 
be  compelled  by  hunger  to  renew  these  depredations.  Very 
respectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

H.  H.  Sibley, 
Colonel,  Commanding  Military  Expedition. 

N.  B. — I  have  evidence  that  Little  Priest  and  part  of  his 
band  of  Winnebagoes  participated  in  the  hostilities  at  New 
TJlm  and  elsewhere.  ^ 


Headquarters  Indian  Expedition, 

Camp  Eelease,  October  3,  1862. 

Those  Indians  of  the  Medawakanton,  and  Wahpeton  bands 
of  the  Sioux  who  have  separated  themselves  from  Little  Crow 
and  desire  to  return  and  surrender  themselves  to  their  Great 
Father,  must  come  down  and  encamp  near  me,  sending  in  ad- 
vance two  of  their  x)rincipal  men  with  a  white  flag.  This 
must  be  done  immediately,  for  there  are  other  bodies  of  troops 
in  search  of  Little  Crow  who  will  attack  any  camp  they  find 
unless  they  have  protection.  I  will  see  that  no  innocent  person 
is  injured  who  comes  to  me  without  delay.  Unless  these  peo- 
ple arrive  very  soon  I  will  go  in  search  of  them  with  my  troops 
and  treat  them  as  enemies ;  and  if  any  more  murders  and  dep- 
redations are  committed  upon  the  white  settlers  I  will  destroy 
every  camp  of  the  Lower  Indians  I  can  find  without  mercy.  ^ 

H.  H.  Sibley, 
Colonel,  Commanding  Military  Expedition. 


1  li.id.,  r>p.  oyi,  6yr,. 

2  Ibid.,  [..  709. 


appendix.  477 

Headquarters  Camp  Eelease, 

October  3,  1862. 
Wanatua,  Standing  Buffalo,  Tah-ton-Jca-nangee,  and  Wa-mun-dee- 

on-pe-du  tah,  Chiefs  of  the  Sisseton  Sioux, 

My  Friends  :  I  am  sorry  to  hear  that  you  allowed  Little 
Crow  and  the  bad  men  to  escape  into  your  country.  After  I 
had  beaten  them  and  killed  many  of  their  number  you  should 
have  stopped  him  until  I  could  have  overtaken  him  and  his 
band  and  destroyed  them.  Now  he  must  be  pursued  by  my 
troops  into  your  country,  but  you  will  not  be  injured  nor  any 
of  your  men  who  have  not  been  engaged  in  the  murders  per- 
petrated by  the  bad  Indians.  I  learn  that  you  intend  to  come 
down  to  see  me  with  some  of  your  bands.  I  do  not  wish  you 
to  do  so,  because  I  have  a  great  many  men  who  are  very  angry 
because  so  many  of  their  white  relations  have  been  killed, 
and  they  might  not  be  able  to  distinguish  you  from  the  guilty 
bands,  and  fire  upon  you.  I  do  not  wish  you  to  suffer  from 
any  such  mistake ;  therefore  I  desire  you  to  remain  at  your 
own  villages  until  I  can  have  time  to  go  and  talk  to  you  in 
council.  Keep  your  bands  separate  from  the  wicked  men  who 
have  broken  peace  with  their  Great  Father.  There  are  many 
other  troops  going  in  search  of  these  bad  men  besides  those  I 
have  with  me,  and  they  will  all  be  caught  and  punished.  ^ 

Your  Friend, 
H.  H.  Sibley, 
Colonel,  Commanding  Military  Expedition. 


Camp  Eelease,  Minnesota, 

October  7,  1862. 
Brigadier  General  H.  H.  Sibley, 

Sir  :  The  undersigned,  after  cordially  congratulating  you 
upon  your  recent  well-merited  promotion,  beg  leave  to  repre- 
sent that  they  have  learned  with  much  regret  that  you  have 
asked  to  be  relieved  from  your  present  command.  They  re- 
spectfully ask  that  you  will  immediately  withdraw  said  appli- 
cation and  remain  in  command  of  the  Expedition.  They  fur- 
ther earnestly  request  that  you  will  use  your  best  exertions 
with  Major  General  Pope  to  consolidate  a  brigade  of  the  new 
Minnesota  regiments,  and  that  you  remain  in  command  there- 
of till  the  end  of  the  war. 


1  Ibid.,  pp.  708,  709. 


478  APPENDIX. 

If  at  all  consistent  with  public  duty  they  would  be  grati- 
fied to  have  an  opportunity  alter  the  close  of  this  campaign  to 
bring  together  and  drill  the  scattered  fragments  and  parts  of 
the  regiments  for  two  or  three  months,  or  such  other  length  of 
time  as  the  major  general  commanding  may  deem  best,  pre- 
vious to  the  march  against  the  common  foe.  ^  Very  respectfully, 
Your  Obedient  Servants, 
Wm.  Crooks. 
Stephen  Miller, 

Colonel,  Seventh  Minnesota. 
Wm.  E.  Marshall, 
Lieutenant  Colonel,  Seventh  Minnesota. 
George  Bradley, 

Major,  Seventh  Minnesota. 
E.  ]Sr.  McLaren, 

Major,  Sixth  Minnesota. 
E.  C.  Olin, 

Lieutenant,  Third  Minnesota. 
M.  Hendricks, 

Captain,  Battery. 


Headquarters  Military  Expedition, 

Camp  Eelease,  October  17,  1862. 

Major  General  John  Fope,  Commanding  Department  of  the  North- 

ivest,  St.  Paul,  Minnesota, 

General  :  Since  my  last,  acknowledging  receipt  of  your 
dispatches  of  the  tenth  instant,  I  have  received  no  dispatches 
from  your  headquarters. 

^  ^  ^  >ic  il>  ^  >{< 

I  have  now  123  Indian  men  prisoners,  including  the  20 
first  sentenced,  and  236  men  are  confined  at  Yellow  Medicine, 
20  miles  below  this  point. 

As  the  Indians  reported  their  force  at  Yellow  Medicine  to 
be  about  750  (exclusive  of  half-breeds,  who  were  forced  to  be 
l)reseiit),  about  one-third  of  whom  did  not  participate  iu  the 
conflict  there,  or  rather  at  Wood  lake,  my  estimate  is  as  fol- 
lows, based  on  the  best  information  I  can  obtain,  to-wit : 

1  n>i(l.,  p.  720. 


APPENDIX.  479 

Entire  force  of  the  Medawakanton,  Sioux,  and  Wahpetous 7o0 

Prisoners  in  Camp  Release 123 

Friendly  Indians  (scouts)  in  same  cam]) 5 

Prisoners  at  Yellow  Medicine,  strictly  confined 236 

Friendly  Indians  there,  under  surveillance 63 

Killed  in  enj^agement  at  Wood  lake  (known  at  least) 30 

Wounded  (supposed) 40 

497 

Say  500  warriors  accounted  for,  leaving  250,  besides  the 
100  in  White  Lodge  and  Sleepy  Eyes'  bands  of  Sioux  Sisse- 
tons,  who  committed  the  Lake  Shetek  massacres,  yet  to  be 
found  and  dealt  with.  I  believe  the  above  to  be  nearly  cor- 
rect. If  there  is  any  error,  it  will  be  found  to  be  in  overrating 
the  men  still  at  large.  The  estimate  embraces  all  the  bands 
below  Big  Stone  lake.  I  am  convinced  I  am  not  far  wrong 
when  I  state  the  Sioux  Indians  above  as  follows: 

Sissetons  of  Standing  Buffalo,  Wanatua,  and  Red  Feather,  with  other 

smaller  bands  at  Big  Stone  lake  and  Lake  Traverse 450 

Eastern  Yanktonnais,  including  Cut-Heads  and  Ouk  patiens  [Unca- 

papa?] 800 

1,250 

The  latter  may  be  somewhat  underestimated,  but  they  do 
not  in  any  case  exceed  in  number  1,000  warriors.  To  these 
may  be  added  about  400  Missouri  Yanktons,  with  whom  the 
Eastern  Yanktonnais  are  intimately  connected,  and  by  whom 
they  could  readily  be  reinforced. 

You  have,  therefore,  General,  within*your  department  lim- 
its or  immediately  adjacent: 

Refugee  Medawakanton  and  Wahpetons 250 

Lower  Sissetons 100 

Upper  Sissetons  and  Eastern  Yanktonnais 1,450 

Missouri  Yanktons 400 

2,200 

Making  an  aggregate  force  of  2,200  Sioux  warriors,  provid- 
ed they  are  not  strengthened  by  the  Teton  bands  across  the 
Missouri.  The  fractional  brigade  under  my  command,  if  aided 
by  a  few  hundred  mounted  men  to  overtake  and  bring  to  bay 
these  prairie  savages,  is  able  to  whip  the  whole  of  them  even 
if  combined ;» but  as  they  are  well  provided  for  the  most  part 
with  good  horses,  they  could  easily  elude  the  pursuit  of  foot- 
men alone. 


480  APPENDIX. 

I  think  it  may  be  safely  calculated  that  one-half  of  the  first 
350  above  set  down  will  be  captured  and  destroyed  before 
spring,  as  they  must  come  in  from  the  prairie  before  winter. 

I  have  made  the  foregoing  enumeration,  General,  to  furnish 
you  with  such  information  as  may  be  useful  to  you  in  forming 
your  plans  for  the  future.  ^ 

«  *  *  *  >ic  >(s  ;}; 

I  am,  General,  very  respectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

H.  H.  Sibley, 
Brigadier  General,  Commanding. 


Headquarters  Military  Expedition, 

Camp  Eelease,  October  21,  1862. 

Major  General  John  Pope,  Commanding  Department  of  the  North- 
west, St.  Paul,  Minnesota, 

General  :  Your  dispatch  of  seventeenth  instant  reached 
me  to-day  through  Lieutenant  Shelley.  I  shall  of  course  change 
my  plans  so  as  to  accord  with  your  orders.  The  commission 
is  proceeding  with  the  trials  of  prisoners  as  rapidly  as  possi- 
ble. More  than  120  cases  have  been  disposed  of,  the  greater 
part  of  whom  have  been  found  guilty  of  murder  and  other 
atrocious  crimes,  and  there  remain  still  nearly  300  to  be  tried. 

Lieutenant  Colonel  Marshall  has  just  arrived  with  his  de- 
tachment and  39  men'and  about  100  women  and  children  pris- 
oners. Among  the  former  are  known  to  be  several  murderers 
and  rascals,  who  will  of  course  be  made  to  pay  the  penalty  of 
their  crimes.  I  have  now  about  400  Indian  men  in  irons  and 
between  60  and  70  under  surveillance  here  and  at  the  Yellow 
Medicine. 

Lieutenant  Colonel  Marshall  proceeded  to  within  35  miles 
of  the  James  river  and  he  passed  within  26  miles  of  Big 
Stone  lake.  He  took  captive  all  the  Indians  to  be  found  in 
the  district  of  country  visited  by  him,  and  the  prisoners  re- 
port the  Sissetons  and  Eastern  Yanktonnais  to  be  several 
days'  march  farther  west.  When  his  report  is  received  it 
will  be  transmitted  to  your  headquarters.  He  was  ably  assist- 
ed by  Major  Brown  of  my  staff,  who  accompanied  him,  as 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  744-746. 


APPENDIX.  481 

well  as  by  Captain  Valentine  of  the  Sixth,  and  Curtis  of  the 
Seventh,  regiments,  and  Lieutenant  Swan,  in  immediate  com- 
mand of  the  mounted  men,  whose  companies,  with  a  mounted 
howitzer,  under  the  charge  of  Sergeant  O'Shea,  composed 
his  force.  ^     I  am,  General,  very  respectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

H.  H.  Sibley, 
Brigadier  General,  Commanding. 


1  Ibid.,  pp.  756,  757. 


I 


III. 
OFFICIAL  MILITARY  REPORTS  AND  DISPATCHES 

OP 

GENEEAL  HENEY  HASTINGS  SIBLEY, 

OF 

COLONELS  MCPHAIL,  CROOKS,  MARSHALL,  MILLER,  AND  BAKER, 

OF  THE  FIRST,  SIXTH,  SEVENTH,  EIGHTH,  AND  TENTH 

REGIMENTS,  MINNESOTA  VOLUNTEERS, 

AND  OF 

MAJOE  GENEEALS  HALLECK  AND  POPE. 

SECOND  SIOUX   CAMPAIGN, 

1863. 


[This  third  part  of  the  appendix  contains  military  dispatches  and  re- 
ports from  General  Sibley  and  others,  during  the  second  Sioux  campaign. 
From  the  close  of  the  first  campaign,  or  Battle  of  Wood  Lake,  September 
23,  1862,  to  the  opening  of  the  second  campaign,  or  march  from  Camp 
Pope,  June  16,  1863,  was  a  period  of  somewhat  more  than  eight  months, 
occupied,  with  the  release  of  the  captives,  the  trial,  condemnation,  and  exe- 
cution of  the  Indian  criminals  sentenced  to  death,  the  imprisonment  of 
others  adjudged  to  a  milder  fate,  the  disposition  of  the  Indian  prisoners, 
their  final  expulsion  from  the  state,  the  abi'ogation  of  treaties  made  with  the 
Sioux  Nation,  the  removal  of  the  Winnebagoes,  preparation  for  the  cam- 
paign of  1863,  and  the  stationing  of  troops  for  the  protection  of  the  fron- 
tier, during  the  approaching  absence  of  General  Sibley  in  the  field.  A  mul- 
titude of  dispatches  exist,  during  this  time,  most  of  which  Ave  are  obliged 
to  omit,  to  make  room  for  those  more  important,  and  of  public  value. 
What  are  here  given,  cover  from  February  18,  1863,  to  October  5,  1863,  a 
period  of  about  eight  months.  Their  subject  matter  is  the  general  condi- 
tion of  Minnesota  and  Dakota  in  the  winter,  spring,  and  summer  of  1862- 
1863,  the  organization  of  the  second  Sioux  campaign,  the  vindication  of 
General  Sibley  by  Major  fJeneral  Pope,  in  command  of  the  military  depart- 
ment of  the  Nortliwest,  tlie  explanation  of  General  Snlly's  failure  to  inter- 
cept tlie  IndiaiiH,  according  to  the  i)lan  of  the  joint  expeditions  of  Generals 
Sibley  and  Sully,  and  the  linal  fortunes  of  Little  Crow,  j 


appendix.  483 

Headquarters  Department  of  the  Northwest, 
Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  February  18,  1863. 

Colonel  J.  C.  Kelton,  Assistant  Adjutant  General,  Headquarters  of 

the  Army, 

Colonel:  I  have  the  honor  to  state,  for  the  information  of 
the  general-in-chief,  that  reports  from  General  Sibley,  from 
the  Indian  agents,  and  from  other  respectable  persons  on  the 
frontier  have  been  received  here,  and  these  reports  all  concur 
in  representing  that  extensive  preparations  and  combinations 
are  being  made  among  the  Sioux  for  a  renewal  of  hostilities 
in  the  spring.  Little  Crow,  it  is  stated,  has  succeeded  in 
uniting  several  of  the  bands  of  the  Upper  Sioux,  and  that  as 
many  as  7,000  warriors  will  be  brought  into  the  field  as  soon 
as  the  spring  fairly  opens.  This  number  is  perhaps  overesti  • 
mated,  but  all  indications  point  to  some  serious  and  extensive 
operations  against  the  white  settlements,  and  it  will  be  well 
to  provide  in  time  against  such  an  outbreak.  I  have  accord- 
ingly instructed  General  Sibley  to  organize  two  columns,  if 
possible,  to  consist  of  not  less  than  2,500  men  each,  with  six 
pieces  of  artillery  to  each  column,  and  to  be  in  readiness  to 
take  the  field  as  soon  as  the  grass  is  sufficiently  advanced  to 
subsist  his  animals.  One  column  will  move  north  from  the 
St.  Peter's  (Minnesota)  river,  at  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Medi- 
cine, the  other  along  the  Big  Sioux,  or  between  that  stream 
and  the  James  river.  The  Indians  are  said  to  be  assembled 
in  the  vicinity  of  Devil's  lake,  on  the  northern  line  of  Minne- 
sota, and  these  columns  will  move  against  them.  At  the  same 
time  I  desire  to  move  a  third  column,  under  General  Cook, 
up  the  Missouri  river  from  Fort  Eandall,  so  as  to  intercept 
any  retreat  of  the  Indians  to  the  south  side  of  the  Missouri. 
The  attack  of  the  Indians  will  doubtless  be  made  upon  the 
settlements  along  the  Missouri  and  James  rivers,  if  their 
movements  be  not  anticipated.  The  only  troops  I  can  give 
to  General  Cook  for  this  purpose  are  three  companies  of  the 
Forty-first  Iowa  Infantry,  now  at  Sioux  City,  and  part  of  the 
regiment  of  cavalry  in  Iowa,  the  organization  of  eight  com- 
panies having  been  completed.  I  have  written  to  Governor 
Kirkwood  to  send  up  the  eight  companies  of  cavalry  to  report 
to  General  Cook  at  Sioux  City,  and  I  have  suggested  to  him 
that  he  should  fill  up  the  Forty-first  regiment  by  organizing 
as  soon  as  possible  the  remaining  seven  companies.     In  view 


484  APPENDIX. 

of  these  operations  in  the  spring,  I  request  that  the  mounted 
regiments  in  ]!^ebraska  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  General 
Cook  for  his  movement  up  the  Missouri.  Under  all  views  of 
the  Indian  question,  I  think  it  very  necessary  that  demon- 
stration in  some  force  be  made  on  the  northern  plains  in  the 
spring.  I  think,  with  the  regiments  of  mounted  men  in  Ne- 
braska, the  force  will  be  sufficient.  I  will  transmit  to  the  de- 
partment copies  of  the  reports  of  Generals  Cook  and  Sibley.  ^ 
I  am,  Colonel,  respectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

Jno.  Pope, 
Major  General,  Commanding. 


Headquarters  Department  of  the  Northwest, 
Milwaukee,  February  25,  1863. 
Brigadier  General  H.  H.  Sibley,  Commanding  District  of  Minne- 
sota, 

General:  Your  letter  of  the  nineteenth,  to  Major  Selfridge, 
has  been  received.  All  stores,  etc.,  will  be  sent  you  as  soon 
as  the  river  opens.  The  information  concerning  Little  Crow 
and  the  intentions  of  the  Sioux  Indians  is  very  conflicting,  as 
it  reaches  me  from  different  quarters.  From  Fort  Eandall  I 
learn  positively  that  Little  Crow  is  encamped  on  the  Missouri 
river,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  above  Fort  Pierre,  and 
that  the  attack  of  the  Sioux  tribes  (if  any  attack  be  made) 
will  be  upon  the  settlements  along  the  Missouri.  About  2,500 
men,  most  of  them  mounted,  will  be  assembled  at  Fort  Ean- 
dall as  soon  as  the  Missouri  can  be  navigated,  for  operations 
up  the  river,  in  conjunction  with  your  operations  in  Minne- 
sota. If,  as  you  apprehend,  there  is  likely  to  be  a  formidable 
movement  against  Abercrombie,  it  seems  to  me  that  in  your 
movement  toward  Devil's  lake  you  had  best  send  a  large  de- 
tachment by  way  of  the  post,  instead  of  Big  Sioux  or  James 
river,  to  unite  with  you  near  Devil's  lake.  It  will  not  be 
necessary  to  keep  any  large  garrison  at  Abercrombie  after 
you  commence  your  movement,  nor  do  I  think  it  at  all  neces- 
sary or  desirable  that  you  should  keep  up  the  small  posts  you 
have  established  for  the  winter  along  the  frontier.  Don't  put 
yourself  on  the  defensive,  but  on  the  offensive.     With  the 


1  AVar  of  the  Uebellion,  Official  Uccords,  etc.,  Scries  I.,  Vol.  XXII.,  Part  II.,  i)i).  116,  117. 


APPENDIX.  485 

force  you  have,  it  seems  clear  to  me  that  you  cau  organize 
two  columns,  each  of  sufficient  strength  to  deal  with  the 
whole  body  of  Indians.  One  of  these  columns  you  can  send, 
if  you  think  best,  by  way  of  Abercrombie  and  the  valley  of 
the  Red  river,  but  in  order  to  do  this  you  must  abandon  the 
idea  of  maintaining  all  these  small  posts  through  the  country. 
Five  or  six  hundred  men  will  be  enough  to  leave  at  Fort  Eip- 
ley  to  keep  the  Chippewas  quiet.  All  the  other  (or  most  of 
the  other)  posts  I  would  break  up,  and  take  the  troops  with 
you  as  you  pass  beyond  them  in  your  march  north.  Make 
your  preparations  complete.  I  will  do  all  I  can  to  forward  your 
plans.  There  are  no  troops  in  this  state  except  those  now 
under  orders  for  the  South,  where  they  are  greatly  needed, 
and  I  cannot  bring  myself  to  believe  that  you  lack  troops  in 
Minnesota.  I  have  written  fully  to  the  department  concern- 
ing the  Indian  prisoners,  both  the  condemned  and  those  at 
Snelling.   I  will  have  you  relieved  of  them  before  you  move.  ^ 

Respectfully,  etc., 

Jno.  Pope, 
Major  General,  Commanding. 


Washington,  D.  C,  March  23,  1863. 

Major  General  Pope,  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin, 

General:  Your  letters  of  the  twelfth,  in  regard  to  con- 
demned Indian  prisoners,  and  also  requesting  that  additional 
brigadier  generals  be  sent  to  you,  are  received. 

Your  letters  in  regard  to  the  Indian  prisoners  have  several 
times  been  laid  before  the  secretary  of  war,  and  always  with 
the  same  result.  The  department  of  the  interior  refuses  to 
take  charge  of  them,  or  to  furnish  any  means  for  their  sup- 
port. We.  therefore,  have  no  alternative  but  to  guard  and 
feed  them  until  the  president  sees  fit  to  otherwise  dispose  of 
them. 

Brigadier  General  Sibley  has  been  reappointed,  and  is  for 
duty  in  your  department;  as  also  General  Smith,  formerly  of 
your  staff.  General  Roberts  will  be  sent  to  you  as  soon  as  he 
can  be  replaced  at  Harper's  Ferry.     Probably  another  will 

1  Ibid.,  p.  123. 


4S6  APPENT)rX. 

also  be  sent.  But  three  brigadier  generals  are  a  fall  propor- 
tion for  the  number  of  yonr  troops.  In  all  the  departments 
brigades  are  commanded  by  colonels.  ^     Very  respectfully, 

Tour  Obedient  Servant, 

H.  W.  Halleck, 
General -in  -  Ch  ief. 


HEADQUABTEEB  DEPAET]!0:^'T  OF  THE  XOETHWEST. 

JtlrLTTAUKEE,  AViscoKBDf,  April  4,  1863. 

Colonel  J.  C.  Kelton.  Assistant  Adjiitant  General.  Headquarters  of 

the  Army,  Washington,  D.  C. 

CoLOXEL:  I  hare  the  honor  to  report,  for  the  informa- 
tion of  the  general -in-chief,  that  I  hare  received  letters  from 
General  Cook,  informing  me  that  scouts  and  runners,  whom 
he  sent  up  the  Missouri  some  weeks  since,  have  returned  and 
report  that  the  Indians  having  been  informed  of  the  proposed 
movements  against  them  from  the  Missouri  and  Minnesota, 
have  moved  off  toward  Devil's  lake,  with  the  purpose  of  tak- 
ing refuge  in  the  British  possessions  on  the  Lower  Bed  river. 
From  the  account  sent  by  Greneral  Cook,  it  seems  that  the  fact 
of  the  expedition  moving  against  them  as  soon  as  the  spring 
opens  was  communicat'Cd  to  the  iDdians  by  white  traders  from 
the  Selkirk  settlements,  who  invited  them,  in  view  of  their 
danger,  to  move  into  the  British  possessions,  assuring  them 
of  protection  and  assistance  in  the  way  of  arms  and  ammu- 
nition. I  do  not  doubt  that  much  of  this  information  is  true, 
and  that  the  Indians,  if  they  find  themselves  unable  to  resist, 
will  retreat  north  beyond  our  frontier.  How  much  assistance 
they  will  receive,  or  how  much  encouragement  will  be  given 
them  at  the  British  post  and  agencies  I  do  not  know,  but  it 
seems  now  probable  that  the  expeditions  will  find  none  of  these 
Indians  within  our  own  territory.  I  am  going  up  to  St.  Paul 
in  the  course  of  a  couple  of  weeks,  and  shall  instruct  Generals 
Sibley  and  Cook  to  pursue  these  hostile  Indians  who  have 
committed  depredations  within  our  lines,  or  whose  usual 
homes  are  in  our  country,  wherever  they  may  go,  regardless 
of  boundary  lines.  These  orders  \nll  be  carried  out  unless  I 
am  otherwise  instructed  by  the  government.     Otherwise  the 

1  IMd-,  p.  1 76. 


APPENDIX.  487 

result  will  be  that  the  Indians,  having  a  secure  place  of  ref- 
uge, will  be  at  liberty  to  resume  hostilities  whenever  a  favor- 
able occasion  presents  itself,  and  all  expeditions  against  them 
must  fail  of  success.  This  result  will  involve  the  necessity  of 
keeping  the  large  force  in  this  department  constantly  on  the 
frontier  until  the  Indians  choose  to  close  their  hostilities. 
Unless  they  are  followed  into  the  Selkirk  settlements,  or  any- 
where else  they  may  choose  to  go,  the  campaign  against  them 
must  of  necessity  be  a  failure,  unless,  indeed,  they  choose  to 
risk  a  battle.  If  they  are  not  pursued,  as  soon  as  our  forces 
are  withdrawn  to  Minnesota  and  Missouri,  the  Indians  will 
follow  them  up,  and  renew  their  attacks  upon  defenseless  set- 
tlements. Unless  thoroughly  punished  this  summer,  there 
will  be  constant  difficulty  with  them  for  years  to  come.  If  the 
government  do  not  desire  me  to  push  into  the  British  posses- 
sions in  pursuit  of  any  hostile  Indians,  I  respectfully  request 
to  be  informed  of  it  as  soon  as  possible.  ^  I  am.  Colonel,  re- 
spectfully, Your  Obedient  Servant, 

Jno.  Pope, 
Major  General. 


Wae  Department, 

Washington,  April  11,  18G3. 

Major  General  Pope,  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin, 

The  president  directs  that  under  no  circumstances  will  our 

troops  cross  the  boundary  line  into  British  territory  without 

his  authority.  ^ 

H.  W.  Halleck, 

General-in-  Ch  ief. 


Headquarters  Department  of  the  Xorthwest, 
Milwaukee,  ^yIscoNSIN,  May  19,  1863. 

Major  General  R.  W.  HallecTi,  General-in-Chief,  Washington,  D.  C, 
General:  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  inclosed  copy  of 
dispatch  from  General  Sibley,  which  reiterates  views  and  opin- 
ions I  have  already  laid  before  the  government.  This  dis- 
patch is  submitted  only  for  the  purpose  of  again  inviting  the 


1  Ibid.,  pp.  198,  199. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  211. 


488  APPENDIX. 

attention  of  the  president  to  this  subject.  I  understand  that 
the  authorities  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  in  the  region 
concerned  are  more  than  willing  that  our  troops  should  pur- 
sue their  operations  against  the  hostile  Sioux  anywhere  within 
the  British  possessions,  and  I  submit  this  telegram  of  General 
Sibley  in  the  hope  that  the  necessary  authority  may  be  ob- 
tained from  the  English  Government  through  its  minister  in 
Washington.  The  people  of  this  region  of  British  America 
are  quite  as  much  interested  as  ourselves  to  keep  the  wild  In- 
dians in  subjection,  but  they  have  neither  the  military  force 
to  do  this  themselves  nor  the  influence  to  control  the  action 
of  these  Indians,  either  in  regard  to  themselves  or  to  us.  Un- 
less, therefore,  authority  can  be  obtained  to  pursue  the  hostile 
Sioux  wherever  they  may  seek  refuge  north  of  our  boundary, 
It  is  nearly  certain  that  the  Indian  campaign  will  be  fruitless 
of  results.  The  subject  is  worthy  of  the  serious  attention  of 
the  government,  and  I  submit  it  accordingly.  ^  I  am,  General, 
respectfully,  Your  Obedient  Servant, 

Jno.  Pope, 
Major  General,  Commanding. 


Headquarters  Department  of  the  Northwest, 
Milwaukee,  June  1,  1863. 

Colonel  J.  C.  Kelton,  Assistant  Adjutant  General, 

Colonel:  I  have  the  honor  to  report,  for  the  information 
of  the  general-in-chief,  that  the  following  plan  of  operations 
for  the  summer  campaign  against  the  Indians  has  been  made, 
and  will  be  carried  out  as  fully  and  expeditiously  as  practi- 
cable. The  hostile  Sioux  are  encamped  at  Devil's  lake  and 
on  the  upper  waters  of  the  James  river  (Riviere  au  Jacques). 
There  are  a  number  of  bands,  some  of  them  from  the  Upper 
Missouri.  It  is  believed  that  there  is  great  dissatisfaction 
amongst  them,  and  very  great  difference  of  opinion,  both  as 
to  the  policy  of  making  war  at  all,  and  as  to  the  manner  and 
place  of  carrying  it  on.  It  is  very  doubtful  whether  any  sort 
of  understanding  will  l)e  arrived  at  between  the  various  bands. 
General  Sibley  niarclies  from  the  Upper  Minnesota  (above 
Fort  Kidgley),  with  2,000  infantry  and  800  cavalry,  and  the 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  288,  289. 


APPENDIX.  489 

necessary  batteries  of  mountain  howitzers.  He  carries  sup- 
plies for  upward  of  three  months.  He  will  march  nearly  di- 
rect upon  Devil's  lake,  sending  detachments  by  way  of  Red 
river.  He  leaves  behind  him  about  3,000  men,  under  a  com- 
petent officer,  for  the  protection  of  the  frontier  against  mov- 
ing bands  during  his  absence.  These  troops  are  established 
at  various  points,  from  north  to  south,  along  the  whole  line  of 
outer  settlements,  and  are  certainly  more  than  sufficient,  even 
if  the  whole  of  the  Indians  should  disperse  themselves  for  such 
desultory  warfare.  It  is  probable  that  you  may  be  annoyed 
with  complaints  of  insufficient  forces  being  left  for  the  defense 
of  frontier  settlements;  such  complaints  are  sometimes  really 
dictated  by  fear,  but  in  many  cases  by  very  different  motives. 
In  all  events,  you  will  understand  that  3,000  men  are  thus  left, 
and  I  am  sure  no  reasonable  people  could  ask  more.  I  do  not 
myself  believe  that  one-half  this  force  is  needed  for  such  a  pur- 
pose, but  I  have  left  them  in  order  that  the  timid,  spiritless 
population  of  foreigners  along  the  frontier  (Norwegians  and 
Germans)  may  not  abandon  their  villages  and  farms,  and  pour 
into  the  river  towns.  General  Sully  moves  up  the  Missouri, 
with  2,000  cavalry  and  some  light  howitzer  batteries,  to  a 
point  southwest  of  Devil's  lake,  and  will  then  cross  the  coun- 
try to  that  place  to  meet  Sibley,  thus  cutting  off  any  retreat  of 
the  Indians  toward  the  Missouri  river.  He  is  directed  to 
move  a  portion  of  his  command  up  the  south  side  of  the  Mis- 
souri river,  in  case  there  is  any  apprehension  of  Indian  trou- 
bles on  the  frontier  of  Nebraska.  Late  advices  from  there 
certainly  contradict  any  report  of  trouble  in  that  region.  As 
soon  as  operations  against  the  Indians  near  Devil's  lake  and 
on  James  river  are  completed.  Sully  is  directed  to  return  to 
the  Missouri  river,  to  traverse  the  whole  country  on  both  sides 
of  the  river  as  far  as  the  Black  Hills,  visiting  all  the  Sioux 
tribes  he  possibly  can.  He  will  be  supplied  with  rations  for 
four  months,  to  be  kej^t  on  the  steamers  which  accompany  his 
expedition  up  the  river.  He  has  a  small  train  of  wagons,  and 
can  move  with  great  celerity.  Sibley  is  instructed  to  move 
east  from  Devil's  lake  to  Pembina,  one  portion  of  his  com- 
mand returning  on  the  west  side  of  Red  river,  whilst  the  other 
visits  Red  lake  and  all  the  Chippewa  tribes  between  that  place 
and  the  Mississippi  at  the  mouth  of  Crow  Wing  river.  He 
will  take  such  forces  as  are  necessary  to  insure  quiet  in  that 
region  for  some  time  to  come.    My  own  belief  is  that  there  will 


490  APPENDIX. 

be  no  considerable,  if,  indeed,  there  be  any,  fight.  Most  of 
the  Indians  assembled  near  Devil's  lake  and  on  James  river 
are  planting  Indians,  who  have  been  accustomed  to  depend 
upon  their  crops  of  corn  for  a  large  part  of  their  supply  of 
food.  The  moment  they  find  they  will  be  prevented  from 
raising  any  crops  at  all  by  the  advance  of  our  forces,  and  that 
they  must  fight  so  large  a  force  successfully,  I  do  not  doubt 
that  a  very  large  part  of  them  will  come  on  and  deliver  them- 
selves up.  It  will  be  well  for  the  government  to  cousider  care- 
fully in  advance  what  disposition  had  best  be  made  of  such 
Indians.  There  is  no  sort  of  use  to  make  a  treaty  of  peace  with 
them;  such  treaties  amount  to  nothing,  as  they  are  only  kept 
by  Indians  as  long  as  they  find  it  convenient;  but  such  a  con- 
dition of  things  will  give  the  government  the  opportunity  to 
make  a  final  and  favorable  disposition  of  a  large  number  of 
troublesome  Indians,  so  as  to  secure  perfect  quiet  in  the  fu- 
ture. I  therefore  invite  attention  to  the  subject  at  this  early 
day,  as  I  do  not  doubt  that  much  of  what  is  here  stated  as  my 
belief  is  true.  My  own  views  as  to  the  disposition  of  these 
Indians  I  have  already  laid  before  the  government,  and  it  is 
unnecessary  to  repeat  them  here.  A  portion  of  the  Indians  will, 
without  doubt,  take  refuge  in  the  British  possessions,  and  such 
must  be  left  to  be  dealt  with  as  the  government  determines 
hereafter.  It  is  possible  that  I  may  be  mistaken  in  this  view 
of  the  conduct  of  the  Indians,  but  even  if  they  are  united  and 
give  battle,  or  make  war  in  any  other  way,  there  is  abundant 
force  to  deal  with  them.  The  Missouri  river  is  lower  than  it 
has  been  for  thirty  years,  and,  as  little  snow  fell  in  the  moun- 
tains, the  June  rise  will  be  slight.  I  fear,  therefore,  that 
Sully  may  be  delayed  somewhat,  though  I  have  done  all  that 
is  possible  to  prevent  it.  After  the  expedition  leaves  the 
frontier,  nothing  more  will  be  needed  by  them,  and  we  shall 
probably  hear  but  seldom  from  them  during  their  absence.  I 
hope,  early  in  the  autumn,  to  be  able  to  send  nearly  the  whole 
of  these  forces  South.  ^     I  am,  Colonel,  respectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

Jno.  Pope, 
Major  General,  Commanding. 

1   Il.id.,  pp.  304,305. 


APPENDIX.  491 

Washington,  July  17,  1863,  12:25  p.  m. 

Major  General  Fope,  Department  of  the  Northwest : 

It  is  reported  here  by and  others  of  high  stand- 
ing that  General  Sibley's  command  is  altogether  too  large  for 
the  object  in  view;  that  one-third  of  the  number  would  be 
much  more  efficient  against  the  Indians,  and  could  be  subsist- 
ed with  much  less  difficulty.  Would  it  not  be  better  to  recall 
a  portion  of  his  forces,  now  that  there  is  no  probability  of  its 
meeting  any  large  body  of  Indians?^ 

H.  W.  Halleck, 

General-ill-  Chief. 


Headquarters  Department  of  the  Northwest, 
Office  of  the  Assistant  Adjutant  General, 

Milwaukee,  July  18,  1863. 

Major  General  H.  W.  Halleck,  General-in-  Chief,  Washington, 

General:  I  have  the  honor,  in  answer  to  your  telegram 
of  yesterday,  to  submit  the  following  statement: 

The  whole  force  with  which  General  Sibley  marched  from 
his  camp  above  Fort  Eidgley  was  2,800  men.  The  regiments 
were  all  new  and  little  accustomed  to  the  hardships  of  a  march. 
From  all  experience,  therefore,  by  the  time  he  reached  Aber- 
crombie  his  effective  force  would  be  reduced  to  2,300  men  at 
most.  I  have  no  information  which  leads  me  in  any  way  to 
the  belief  that  General  Sibley  will  encounter  any  less  force  of 
Indians  than  was  supposed  from  the  beginning.  On  the  con- 
trary, last  advices  (and  they  are  certainly  as  late,  and  quite 
as  reliable,  to  say  the  least,  as  anybody  else  can  have)  repre- 
sent the  Indians  as  still  concentrated  near  Devil's  lake.  This 
expedition  was  organized  throughout  by  General  Sibley.  He 
has  passed  his  whole  life  in  Minnesota,  and  knows  Indian 
character  well.  He  conducted  the  successful  campaign  of  last 
autumn  against  the  Sioux,  in  the  midst  of  the  same  carping 
and  fault-finding.  He  has  had  time,  and  it  has  been  his  busi- 
ness (to  which,  I  know,  he  has  devoted  all  his  time  and  energy 
for  months  past),  to  inform  himself  thoroughly  of  the  inten- 
tions and  force  of  the  Indians,  and  of  the  necessary  means  and 

1  Ibid.,  p.  380. 


492  APPENDIX. 

modes  of  conducting  a  successful  camiDaign  against  them.  I 
have  received  letters  from  him  several  times  since  he  com- 
menced his  march.  I  have  seen  no  reason,  from  them  or  from 
anything  else  within  my  knowledge,  to  occasion  any  suspi- 
cions that  he  has  been  mistaken  in  his  preparations,  or  an- 
ticipates any  interruption  to  the  course  he  has  marked  out. 
Surely,  under  these  circumstances,  it  may  be  fairly  presumed 
that  General  Sibley  understands  his  business  as  well,  at  leasts 
as  anybody  else  does.  I  do  not  consider  it  judicious  to  send 
him  any  orders  on  the  subject.  I  am  very  sure  that  if  circum- 
stances occur  which  will  enable  him  to  dispense  with  any  part 
of  his  force,  he  will  do  so  without  requiring  orders.  I  shall 
send  him  a  copy  of  your  dispatch  and  of  this  letter,  so  that  he 
may  be  fully  advised  on  the  subject.  The  reports  in  the  pa- 
pers concerning  his  expedition  are,  no  doubt,  as  untrue  as 
newspaper  reports  usually  are.  I  have  received  nothing  from 
him  which,  in  the  remotest  degree,  justifies  such  stories.^  I 
am.  General,  respectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

Jno.  Pope, 
Major  General,  Commanding. 


Headquarters  Department  of  the  Northwest, 
Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  July  21,  1863. 

Major  General  H.  W.  Salleck,  Wasliinyion, 

General:  The  inclosed  copy  of  a  St.  Paul  newspaper 
contains  a  very  full  account  of  Sibley's  expedition  up  to  July 
5th.  You  will  readily  see  how  utterly  mistaken  are  those 
who  put  in  circulation  the  accounts  in  the  papers,  which  are, 
doubtless,  repeated  to  you.  I  will  endeavor  to  keep  you  ad- 
vised of  everything  of  importance  in  this  department,  and  I 
think  my  opportunities  for  knowing  the  condition  of  affairs  in 
this  department  are  as  good,  if  not  better,  than  those  of  any 
one  not  connected  with  the  military  service.  Representations 
and  applications  similar  to  those  made  in  regard  to  the  pres- 
ent expedition  were  made  to  me  last  autumn,  and  I  was  ui-ged, 
with  many  authentic  statements  of  facts,  to  remove  Sibley 
from  the  command  of  the  expedition  last  September,  only  a 

1  Ilii(].,|ip.  381,a82. 


APPENDIX.  493 

few  weeks  before  he  brought  it  to  a  most  successful  termina- 
tion. As  I  declined  to  accede  to  such  applications,  it  is  likely 
they  have  been  transferred  to  you,  but  I  think  you  will  save 
yourself  much  trouble  and  annoyance  by  referring  them  again 
to  me.  I  have  every  hope  that  the  combined  movements  of 
Sully  and  Sibley  will  put  a  decisive  end  to  Indian  hostilities 
in  the  Northwest.  Of  course,  small  parties  of  hostile  Indians 
will  endeavor  to  harass  the  border  settlements,  in  the  hope  to 
arrest  Sibley's  march.  This  was  to  be  expected,  and  a  large 
force  and  every  precaution  has  been  devoted  to  preventing  any 
considerable  trouble.  There  are  not  troops  enough  in  our 
whole  armies  to  satisfy  the  people  of  Minnesota,  and  place  a 
regiment  or  company  in  the  front  doorof  every  settler's  house 
in  the  country.  A  few  Indians,  never  more  than  three  or  four 
together,  have  been  lurking  about  on  the  frontier,  far  in  the 
rear  of  Sibley,  but  they  ought  easily  to  be  dealt  with  by  the 
people  alone,  without  the  aid  of  soldiers.  Nevertheless,  a  very 
large  force  of  troops  is  posted  along  the  entire  frontier  settle- 
ments, and  is  constantly  patroling  the  line  of  frontier.  This 
horse  stealing,  and  occasional  outrage  by  one  or  two  Indians 
at  a  time,  who  steal  into  the  settlements,  all  the  troops  in  the 
world  could  not  prevent.  Every  precaution  has  been  taken 
to  make  the  Indian  campaign  successful,  and  I  believe  it  will 
be  so  if  mistaken  interferences  of  over-anxious  citizens  of  the 
frontier  are  not  suffered  to  embarrass  the  military  operations.  ^ 
I  am,  General,  very  respectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

Jno.  Pope, 
Major  General,  Commandmg. 


Headquarters  Department  of  the  Northwest, 
Milwaukee,  July  21,  1863. 

Colonel  J.  G.  Kelton,   Assistant  Adjutant  General,   Washington, 

B.  C., 

Colonel:  I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  I  am  just  in 
receipt  of  letters  from  General  Sibley,  dated  on  the  fourth 
instant,  from  the  Cheyenne  river,  up  which  stream  he  is  march- 
ing to  Devil's  lake.  He  has  had  some  trouble,  but  not  much, 
having  marched  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  in  thirteen  days. 


1  Ibid.,  pp.  385,  386. 


494  APPENDIX. 

He  is  advancing  on  Devil's  lake  as  rapidly  as  possible  by  the 
valley  of  the  Cheyenne.  The  Indians,  he  reports,  are  said  to 
be  concentrating  on  the  river  above  him  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  him  battle.  General  Sully  is  by  this  time  marching 
east  from  the  Missouri  for  Devil's  lake,  and  will  soon  be  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  Sibley.  Either  column  alone  is 
abundantly  able  to  deal  with  the  combined  force  of  Indians.  ^ 
I  am  Colonel,  respectfully. 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

Jno.  Pope, 
Major  General. 


Headquarters  Department  of  the  K'orthwest, 
Milwaukee,  July  27,  1863. 

Major  General  S.  W.  Railed;  Washington,  D.  C, 

General:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
the  letter  of  William  F.  Lock  wood,  on  the  subject  of  appre- 
hended Indian  troubles  in  Nebraska,  with  your  indorsement 
thereon. 

Mr.  Lock  wood  is  doubtless  right  when  he  says  that  ' '  pro- 
tection to  the  settlers  is  the  leading  consideration,"  but  when 
he  says  that  protection  can  best  be  rendered  by  keeping  the 
troops  assigned  to  that  duty  amongst  the  settlements,  he  is 
stating  what  is  contradicted  by  all  military  experience  on  the 
frontier  for  the  last  twenty  years.  IsTothing  is  better  known 
than  the  fact  that  it  requires  five  times  as  many  troops  to  pro- 
tect in  this  way  a  line  of  frontier  settlements  as  the  Indians 
can  possibly  bring  against  them,  and  tbat  so  long  as  this  sys- 
tem of  defensive  operations  is  kept  up,  just  that  long  this 
greatly  superior  force  of  white  troops  must  be  maintained. 
Besides  this,  under  such  a  system,  the  frontier  farms  and  small 
settlements  not  actually  occupied  by  a  military  force  are  con- 
stantly subjected  to  encroachments  of  small  parties  of  Indians, 
who,  having  no  fear  of  the  invasion  of  their  own  country  and 
homes,  spend  their  time  in  stealing  into  the  settlements  to 
commit  depredations.  I  suppose  if  there  is  one  fact  demon- 
strated clearly  by  an  experience  in  Indian  warfare  it  is  that 
no  such  defensive  policy  is  wise,  and  that  it  only  leads  to  great 
and  increasing  expense,  and  to  the  constant  alarm  and  uneasi- 

I   It.i'l.,  p.  380. 


APPENDIX.  495 

ness  of  frontier  settlers.  Our  troops  on  the  frontier  have  of 
late  years  certainly  been  posted,  not  in  the  settlements,  but  at 
points  as  near  as  possible  to  the  Indians,  and  in  such  positions 
that  their  garrisons  can  be  most  readily  concentrated.  When 
Indian  hostilities  break  out,  campaigns  are  at  once  made 
against  them,  and  in  nearly  every  case  with  sufficient  success 
to  restore  peace  for  some  time  at  least. 

A  review  of  Mr.  Lock  wood's  letter  leads  me  properly  to 
speak  of  the  condition  of  Indian  affairs  in  Minnesota,  and  to 
answer  very  briefly  the  fault-findings  and  misrepresentations 
which  certain  parties  have  carried  to  the  government.  With- 
out commenting  on  the  motives  of  this  spirit  of  carping  and 
finding  fault,  I  shall  assume  that  the  parties  making  these  ob- 
jections to  Sibley's  expedition,  and  the  military  arrangement 
in  Minnesota,  really  believe  what  they  say,  and  entertain  in 
good  faith  the  apprehensions  they  express.  What  are  the 
facts'?  Even  after  Sibley's  successful  campaign  of  last  autumn 
(which,  by  the  way,  was  followed  by  the  same  representations 
and  fault-finding),  my  intention  of  sending  a  large  part  of  the 
force  under  his  command  to  Grant's  army  having  become 
known,  I  was  assailed  by  a  storm  of  remonstrance  and  entreaty 
against  sending  a  man  away  from  the  state.  I  was  assured 
solemnly  that  the  whole  region  west  of  the  Mississippi  was  in 
imminent  danger  from  Indians,  and,  if  any  of  the  troops  were 
sent  away,  the  country  west  of  the  river  would  be  abandoned, 
and  the  inhabitants  would  precipitate  themselves  upon  the 
river  towns.  In  fact,  I  was  informed  by  the  highest  authority 
that  the  exodus  was  already  begun,  in  consequence  of  my  pur- 
pose to  remove  the  troops  having  become  known.  To  such  an 
extent  was  this  carried,  that  I  was  compelled  to  address  a  letter 
to  the  governor  for  publication,  promising  that  the  troops 
should  remain  at  their  stations  along  the  frontier  for  the  win- 
ter. Of  course,  no  movement  against  the  Indians  was  practi- 
cable until  the  spring  opened. 

It  was,  and  is,  my  belief  that  the  government  wishes  this 
Indian  war  brought  to  a  close  as  soon  as  possible,  and  the 
troops  sent  where  they  are  greatly  needed.  This,  therefore, 
was,  and  is,  my  first  object.  The  question  was,  how  this  could 
best  be  done.  I  knew  perfectly  well  that  any  attempt  to  send 
troops  South  from  Minnesota  would  lead  to  the  same  appre- 
hensions and  remonstrances  which  met  me  in  the  autumn.  I 
knew,  too,  that  if  I  allowed  the  troops  to  remain  posted  along 


496  APPENDIX. 

the  frontier,  their  stay  in  the  state  would  be  unlimited,  as  the 
people  certainly  would  never  consent  to  thisir  being  sent  out 
of  the  country,  and  would  abandon  their  farms  and  the  settle- 
ments at  the  first  movement  of  the  kind.  I  need  not  tell  you 
what  a  storm  of  remonstrance  and  entreaty  would  have  been 
visited  upon  the  authorities  at  Washington,  nor  how  imiDOSsi- 
ble  to  have  resisted  it.  It  became  necessary,  therefore,  as  soon 
as  the  spring  opened,  to  make,  as  rapidly  as  possible,  such  a 
campaign  against  the  Indians  as  would  assure  the  security  of 
the  frontier  and  restore  confidence  tjo  the  people.  Unless  this 
could  be  done,  there  was  no  hope  of  being  able  to  send  the 
troops  South.  In  this  view,  the  expeditions  of  Sibley  and 
Sully  were  organized.  Sibley's  campaign  is  probably  over  by 
this  time,  as  on  the  twenty-second  instant  he  was  to  reach 
Devil's  lake,  where  the  Indians  were  still  concentrating  as 
late  as  the  eleventh  of  July.  He  will  return  with  little  delay, 
and  will  probably  reach  Fort  Snelliug  with  the  larger  part  of 
his  command  by  the  last  of  August  or  the  first  week  in  Sep- 
tember. Sully,  as  soon  as  he  hears  of  Sibley's  arrival  at 
Devil's  lake  and  its  result,  will  cross  to  the  south  side  of  the 
Missouri  and  deal  with  the  Sioux  in  that  region. 

From  these  two  expeditions  I  expect  the  happiest  results 
—  an  end  of  the  Indian  war,  the  security  of  the  frontier,  and 
the  departure  of  a  large  part  of  the  troops  South,  without  ob- 
jection. By  pursuing  any  other  course,  they  would,  by  mere 
force  of  entreaty  and  remonstrance,  backed  up  by  strong  in- 
fluence, have  been  forced  to  spend  another  winter,  and  per- 
haps another,  in  Minnesota.  No  one  knows  better  than  your- 
self how  difficult  it  is  to  get  troops  away  from  any  frontier 
settlement  where  momentary  necessity  has  occasioned  their 
being  posted.  People  who  never  felt  apprehensions  before, 
immediately  find  troops  absolutely  necessary  for  their  protec- 
tion, and  really  believe  it  to  be  so.  Every  means  is,  there- 
fore, used  to  prevent  their  removal,  unless  it  is  demonstrated 
there  is  no  longer  danger,  even  remote.  This  apprehension 
and  this  reluctance  to  the  removal  of  troops  once  posted  among 
them  has  been  ludicrously  illustrated  this  spring.  Although 
Sibley  left  a  very  large  force  behind  him  along  the  frontier 
settlements  (five  times  as  large  as  ever  was  in  Minnesota  be- 
fore, when  ])owerful  trib(!S()f  Indians  were  still  encamped  on  the 
Mississippi  and  surroumled  tlie  sparse  settlements  then  exist- 
ing in  the  territory),  and  although  he  was  marching  against  the 


APPENDIX.  497 

very  Indians  of  whom  they  were  apprehensive,  and  was  con- 
stantly interposed  between  them  and  the  white  settlements, 
there  came  up  a  terrible  outcry  from  the  whole  peoi)le  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  through  the  newspapers,  that  they  were  being 
abandoned;  that  Sibley  was  marching  away,  and  the  Indians 
would  attack  the  settlements  behind,  ridiculing  the  movement 
one  moment  and  the  next  protesting  against  the  expedition,  etc. 
That  much  of  this  storm  was  stimulated  by  a  few  persons,  for 
very  different  reasons,  and  to  accomplish  their  own  purposes, 
I  have  abundant  reason  to  know;  but  that  the  mass  of  the 
people  believed  themselves  in  danger  I  have  no  doubt.  Under 
such  circumstances  constant  alarm  and  "stampedes"  were 
expected  as  soon  as  Sibley  got  out  of  sight,  but  they  have  been 
really  fewer  than  I  expected.  The  inclosed  slip,  from  a  paper 
which  has  been  very  active  in  giving  circulation  to  these  wild 
and  alarming  rumors,  will  show  you  just  what  such  stories 
amount  to. 

Objection  has  been  made  to  the  size  of  Sibley's  expedition, 
but  without  much  reason,  and  little  or  no  knowledge  of  the 
facts.  Wonderful  statements  have  been  made  of  his  difficulty 
in  getting  along,  of  the  dreadful  suffering  of  his  men,  of  the 
breaking  [down]  of  his  animals  by  thirst  and  starvation,  of 
conferences  about  abandoning  the  expedition,  etc.  These 
stories  were  put  in  circulation  while  Sibley  was  without  the 
means  of  communicating  with  St.  Paul.  There  was  not  one 
word  of  truth  in  any  of  them.  The  expedition  has  had  no 
difficulty;  it  is  large  enough  completely  to  accomplish  the  pur- 
j)ose,  and  to  make  such  demonstration  of  force  on  the  plains 
as  utterly  to  put  an  end  to  the  belief  among  the  Indians  that 
all  the  fighting  men  had  gone  South,  and  that  the  white  settle- 
ments along  the  frontier  were  at  their  mercy,  a  belief  circu- 
lated by  Little  Crow,  and  which,  doubtless,  prompted  the  out- 
break last  summer.  No  force  much,  if  any,  smaller  would 
have  accomplished  the  purpose.  If  I  had  kept  the  body  of 
troops  at  these  posts,  and  sent  out  cavalry  or  infantry  expedi- 
tions, no  results  would  have  been  accomplished  which  would 
have  induced  the  people  of  Minnesota  to  listen  to  the  idea  of 
sending  troops  South.  The  truth  is,  in  plain  words,  that  there 
are  in  this  state  many  people  who  are  determined  that  the 
troops  shall  not  be  taken  out  of  it.  They  are  clearly  entitled 
to  some  of  the  government  expenditures  which  they  can  only 
get  in  this  way.     As  long  as  the  apprehensions  of  the  people 

32 


498  APPENDIX. 

can  be  kept  up,  the  troops  will  be  kept  in  the  state.  Of  course, 
no  expedition  must  be  successful  enough  to  destroy  all  danger 
from  Indians;  hence  Sibley's  expedition  must  fail,  and  must 
be  embarrassed  and  belied  and  misrepresented,  so  as  to  make 
it  fail  if  possible.  Whilst  some  are  actuated  by  these  motives, 
others  of  whom  I  have  written  act  iuthe  same  direction,  with 
a  different  object  in  view. 

I  believe  that  the  expeditions  are  properly  organized,  and 
that  they  will  accomplish  their  purposes,  and  enable  the  gov- 
ernment to  send  the  troops  composing  them  to  the  South  at 
the  earliest  possible  moment.  They  were  organized  with  this 
view,  and  I  am  confident  of  the  result. 

In  relation  to  the  apprehended  difficulties  in  Nebraska,  I 
wrote  to  Sully  before  he  left  Sioux  City,  to  ascertain  whether 
there  was  any  danger  south  of  the  Missouri,  and  if  so,  to  march 
his  command  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  and  cover  the  set- 
tlements as  he  moved  north.  He  replied  that  there  was  no 
danger,  nor  has  he  ever  intimated  that  there  were  any  In- 
dian troubles  in  Nebraska  since,  though  I  have  heard  from 
him  several  times  at  Sioux  City,  Fort  Eandall,  and  Fort  Pierre. 
Nebraska,  as  you  know,  is  not  in  my  department. 

Sully's  force  is  now  not  even  1,200  strong,  and  I  cannot 
reduce  it  and  accomplish  what  is  desired.  The  Seventh  Iowa 
Cavalry  has,  however,  been  sent  to  General  Schofield,  and  can 
take  the  place  of  the  Nebraska  regiment  now  with  Sully. 

A  few  days  longer  and  all  these  matters  will  be  plainly 
developed.  I  only  give  you  here  my  reasons  for  the  course  I 
have  taken,  and  for  believing  it  will  prove  the  wise  one.  ^  I  am. 
General,  respectfully. 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

Jno.  Pope, 
Major  General,  Commandinrj. 


Headquaeters  District  of  Minnesota, 

St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  August  3,  1863. 

Major  General  John  Pope : 

General  Sibley  writes  July  19th,  thirty-five  miles  this  side 
of  Devil's  lake:  No  Indians  seen  except  small  scouting  parties. 
Half-breeds  report  that  a  few  days  previous  six  hundred  Sioux 


1  Ibi<l..i'l'-I"''-I0'5- 


APPENDIX.  499 

lodges  divided  into  three  parties,  Little  Crow's  adherents 
forming  one,  and  took  different  routes.  General  Sibley  leaves 
his  heavy  transportation  with  seven  companies  in  intrench- 
ments,  and  presses  on  rapidly  with  rations  for  twenty-five 
days.  Little  Crow,  with  nine  men,  said  to  have  gone  to  Yel- 
low Medicine  for  hidden  treasures.  Nothing  heard  from  Gen- 
eral Sully.  No  scarcity  of  water  or  grass,  except  at  isolated 
points.  ^ 

S.  MiLLEE, 

Colonel,  Commanding. 


Headquarters  Department  of  the  Northwest, 
Milwaukee,  August  5,  1863. 

Brigadier  General  Alfred  Sully,  Commanding  Indian  Expedition, 

General:  I  have  just  received  your  letter  of  twenty- 
seventh  instant,  and  I  assure  you  it  both  surprised  and  disap- 
pointed me.  I  never  had  the  slightest  idea  you  could  delay 
thus  along  the  river,  nor  do  I  realize  the  necessity  of  such  de- 
lay. You  have  one  hundred  wagons,  etc.,  sent  from  St.  Louis 
and  about  twenty  with  the  Sixth  regiment  from  Iowa.  I  sup- 
posed, of  course,  that  knowing,  as  my  letters  both  to  you  and 
General  Cook  (your  predecessor)  have  time  and  again  informed 
you,  how  necessary  it  was  that  you  should  be  in  position  on 
the  Upper  Missouri,  or  between  that  river  and  Devil's  lake, 
to  co-operate  with  General  Sibley,  you  would  have  unloaded 
any  heavy  baggage  you  have,  and  have  loaded  your  wagons 
with  subsistence  stores  and  have  pushed  on  without  delay.  I 
never  dreamed  you  would  consider  yourself  tied  to  the  boats 
if  there  were  obstacles  in  going  up  the  river.  As  matters  stand, 
it  seems  to  me  impossible  to  understand  how  you  have  stayed 
about  the  river,  delaying  from  day  to  day,  when  time  of  all 
things  was  important,  and  when  you  had  wagons  enough  to 
carry  at  least  two  months'  subsistence  for  your  command. 

If  you  have  not  adopted  this  course  before  this  letter  reaches 
you,  please  do  so  at  once,  and  move  rapidly  up  the  river. 
Leave  all  your  baggage,  and  load  your  wagons  with  subsist- 
ence. Such  a  failure  as  you  anticipate  must  not  happen,  as 
it  will  be  impossible  for  you  to  explain  it  satisfactorily. 

1  Ibid.,  p.  429. 


500  APPENDIX. 

Sibley  has  had  equal  difficulties  with  yourself,  but  he 
reached  Devil's  lake  about  the  twenty-second,  and  I  should  not 
be  surprised  to  hear  of  him  on  the  Missouri  above  you. 

If  the  Indians  are  driven  into  the  British  possessions,  where 
we  cannot  follow  them,  we  will  have  done  all  in  our  power, 
and  no  one  can  be  dissatisfied;  but  this  much  must  be  done. 
I  trust  that  you  will  realize  the  importance  of  what  I  here  say 
to  you,  and  will  act  upon  it  promptly  and  fully.  Your  forces 
consist  entirely  of  cavalry,  and  there  can  be  no  reason  why 
you  should  not  be  able  to  execute  the  object  of  your  expedi- 
tion. ^     Eespectfully,  General, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

Jno.  Pope, 
Major  General,  Commanding. 


Headquarters  District  of  St.  Paul, 

August  5,  1863.     (Received  August  5.) 

Major  General  John  Pope  : 

General  Sibley  writes,  July  21st,  that  he  has  advanced 
thirty  miles  westward  from  his  position  of  the  nineteenth. 
Expected"  to  reach  Indian  camp  in  four  or  five  days.  Little 
Crow's  band  is  with  this  camp.  The  General  says  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  the  Indian  killed  near  Hutchinson, 
Minnesota,  was  Little  Crow  hiliself ;  he  was  absent  with  a  war 
party,  and  no  other  Sioux  was  known  to  have  withered  arms 
and  displaced  bones  as  described.  General  Sully  not  heard 
from.  2 

S.  Miller, 
Colonel,  Commanding. 


Headquarters  District  of  Minnesota, 
Camp  Carter,  Bank  of  James  River,  August  7,  1863. 
Major:    My  last  dispatch  was  dated  twenty-first  ultimo, 
from  Camj)  Olin,  in  wliich  I  had  the  honor  to  inform  Major 
General  Pope  that  I  had  left  one-third  of  my  force  in  an  in- 
trenched position  at  Camp  Atchison,  and  was  then  one  day's 


1  Iliid.,  p.  43-1. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  435. 


i 


APPENDIX.  501 

march  in  advance,  with  1,400  infantry  and  500  cavalry,  in 
the  direction  where  the  main  body  of  the  Indians  were  sup- 
posed to  be. 

During  the  three  following  days  I  pursued  a  course  some- 
what west  of  south,  making  fifty  miles,  having  crossed  the 
James  river  and  the  Great  Coteau  of  the  Missouri.  On  the 
twenty-fourth,  about  1  p.  m.,  being  considerably  in  advance  of 
the  main  column,  with  some  of  the  officers  of  my  staff,  engaged 
in  looking  out  for  a  suitable  camping  ground,  the  command 
having  marched  steadily  from  5  A.  M.,  some  of  my  scouts  came 
to  me  at  full  speed,  and  reported  that  a  large  camp  of  Indians 
had  just  before  passed,  and  great  numbers  of  warriors  could 
be  seen  upon  the  prairie,  two  or  three  miles  distant.  I  imme- 
diately corraled  my  train  upon  the  shore  of  a  salt  lake  near 
by,  and  established  my  camp,  which  was  rapidly  intrenched 
by  Colonel  Crooks,  to  whom  was  intrusted  that  duty,  for  the 
security  of  the  transportation  in  case  of  attack,  a  precaution  I 
had  taken  whenever  we  encamped,  for  many  days  previously. 
"While  the  earthworks  were  being  pushed  forward,  parties  of 
Indians,  more  or  less  numerous,  appeared  upon  the  hills 
around  us,  and  one  of  my  half-breed  scouts,  a  relative  of  Eed 
Plume,  a  Sisseton  chief,  hitherto  opposed  to  the  war,  ap- 
proached sufficiently  near  to  converse  with  him.  Eed  Plume 
told  him  to  warn  me  that  the  plan  was  formed  to  invite  me  to 
a  council,  with  some  of  my  superior  officers,  to  shoot  us  with- 
out ceremony,  and  then  attack*  my  command  in  great  force, 
trusting  to  destroy  the  whole  of  it.  The  Indians  ventured 
near  the  spot  where  a  portion  of  my  scouts  had  taken  position, 
three  or  four  hundred  yards  from  our  camp,  and  conversed 
with  them  in  an  apparently  friendly  manner,  some  of  them 
professing  a  desire  for  peace.  Surgeon  Josiah  S.  Weiser,  of 
the  First  regiment,  Minnesota  Mounted  Eangers,  incautiously 
joined  the  group  of  scouts,  when  a  young  savage,  doubtless 
supposing,  from  his  uniform  and  horse  equipments,  that  he 
was  an  officer  of  rank,  pretended  great  friendship  and  delight 
at  seeing  him,  but  when  within  a  few  feet  treacherously  shot 
him  through  the  heart.  The  scouts  discharged  their  pieces 
at  the  murderer,  but  he  escaped,  leaving  his  horse  behind. 
The  body  of  Dr.  Weiser  was  immediately  brought  into  camp, 
unmutilated,  save  by  the  ball  that  killed  him.  He  was  uni- 
versally esteemed,  being  skillful  in  his  profession,  and  a  cour- 
teous gentleman.      This  outrage  precipitated  an  immediate 


502  APPENDIX. 

eugagenient.  The  savages,  in  great  numbers,  concealed  by 
tbe  ridges,  had  encircled  those  portions  of  the  camj)  not  flanked 
by  the  lake  referred  to,  and  commenced  an  attack.  Colonel 
[Samuel]  McPhail,  with  two  companies,  subsequently  rein- 
forced by  others,  as  they  could  be  spared  from  other  points, 
was  directed  to  drive  the  enemy  from  the  vicinity  of  the  hill 
where  Dr.  Weiser  was  shot,  while  those  companies  of  the  Sev- 
enth regiment,  under  Lieutenant  Colonel  [W.  E.]  Marshall 
and  Major  [George]  Bradley,  and  one  company  of  the  Tenth 
regiment,  under  Captain  [Alouzo  J.]  Edgerton,  were  dis- 
patched to  support  them.  Taking  with  me  a  six -pounder,  un- 
der the  command  of  Lieutenant  [John  C]  Whij^ple,  I  ascend- 
ed a  hill  toward  the  Big  Mound,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
•ravine,  and  opened  fire  with  spherical  case  shot  upon  the  In- 
dians, who  had  obtained  possession  of  the  upper  part  of  the 
large  ravine,  and  of  smaller  ones  tributary  to  it,  under  the 
protection  of  which  they  could  annoy  the  infantry  and  cavalry 
without  exposure  on  their  part.  This  flank  and  raking  fire  of 
artillery  drove  them  from  their  hiding  places  into  the  brok- 
en prairie,  where  they  were  successively  dislodged  from  the 
ridges,  being  utterly  unable  to  resist  the  steady  advance  of  the 
Seventh  regiment  and  the  Eangers,  but  fled  before  them  in 
confusion.  While  these  events  were  occurring  on  the  right, 
the  left  of  the  camp  was  also  threatened  by  a  formidable  body 
of  warriors.  Colonel  [William]  Crooks,  whose  regiment  (the 
Sixth)  was  posted  on  that  side,  was  ordered  to  deploy  part  of 
his  command  as  skirmishers,  and  to  dislodge  the  enemy.  This 
was  gallantly  done,  the  colonel  directing  in  person  the  move- 
ments of  one  part  of  his  detached  force,  and  Lieutenant  Col- 
onel [John  T.]  Averill  of  the  other,  Major  [Robert  N.]  Mc- 
Laren remaining  in  command  of  that  portion  of  the  regiment 
required  as  part  of  the  camp  guard. 

The  savages  were  steadily  driven  from  one  strong  position 
after  another,  under  a  severe  fire,  until,  feeling  their  utter 
inability  to  contend  longer  with  our  soldiei-s  in  the  open  field, 
they  joined  their  brethren  in  one  common  flight.  Upon  mov- 
ing forward  witli  my  staff  to  a  commanding  point  which  over- 
looked the  field,  1  discovered  the  whole  body  of  Indians,  num- 
bering from  1,000  to  1,500,  retiiing  in  confusion  from  the 
combat,  whihi  a  dark  line  of  moving  objects  on  the  distant 
hills  indicated  the  locality  of  their  families.  I  immediately 
dispatched  orders  to  Colonel  McPhail,  who  had  now  received 


APPENDIX.  503 

an  accession  of  force  from  the  other  companies  of  his  mounted 
regiment,  to  press  on  with  all  expedition,  and  fall  upon  the 
rear  of  the  enemy,  but  not  to  continue  the  pursuit  after  night- 
fall, and  Lieutenant  Colonel  Marshall  was  directed  to  follow 
and  su;^)port  him  with  the  company  of  the  Seventh,  and  Cap- 
tain Edgerton's  company  of  the  Tenth,  accompanied  by  one 
six- pounder  and  one  section  of  mountain  howitzers,  under 
Captain  Jones.  At  the  same  time,  all  of  the  companies  of  the 
Sixth  and  Tenth  regiments,  except  two  from  each,  which  were 
left  as  a  camp  guard,  were  ordered  to  rendezvous,  and  to  pro- 
ceed in  the  same  direction,  but  they  had  so  far  to  march  from 
their  respective  points  before  arriving  at  the  spot  occupied  by 
myself  and  staff,  that  I  felt  convinced  of  the  uselessness  of 
their  proceeding  farther,  the  other  portions  of  the  j^ursuing 
force  being  some  miles  in  the  advance,  and  I  accordingly  or- 
dered their  return  to  camp.  The  cavalry  gallantly  followed 
the  Indians,  and  kept  up  a  running  fight  until  nearly  dark, 
killing  and  wounding  many  of  their  warriors,  the  infantry, 
under  Lieutenant  Colonel  Marshall,  being  kept  at  a  double- 
quick  in  the  rear.  The  order  to  Colonel  McPhail  was  im- 
properly delivered,  as  requiring  him  to  return  to  camp,  in- 
stead of  bivouacking  on  the  prairie.  Consequently  he  re- 
traced his  way,  with  his  weary  men  and  horses,  followed  by 
the  still  more  wearied  infantry,  and  arrived  at  camp  early  the 
next  morning,  as  I  was  about  to  move  forward  with  the  main 
column.  Thus  ended  the  battle  of  the  "Big  Mound."  The 
severity  of  the  labors  of  the  entire  command  may  be  appreci- 
ated when  it  is  considered  that  the  engagement  only  com- 
menced after  the  day's  march  was  nearly  completed,  and  that 
the  Indians  were  chased  at  least  twelve  miles,  making  alto- 
gether full  forty  miles  performed  without  rest. 

The  march  of  the  cavalry  of  the  Seventh  regiment,  and  of 
Company  B  of  the  Tenth  regiment,  in  returning  to  camp  after 
the  tremendous  efforts  of  the  day,  is  almost  unparalleled,  and 
it  told  so  fearfully  upon  men  and  animals  that  a  forward  move- 
ment could  not  take  place  until  the  twenty-sixth,  when  I 
marched  at  an  early  hour.  Colonel  [J.  H.]  Baker  had  been 
left  in  command  of  the  camp  (named  by  the  officers  Camp  Sib- 
ley) during  the  engagement  of  the  previous  day,  and  all  the 
arrangements  for  its  security  were  actively  and  judiciously 
made,  aided  as  he  was  by  that  excellent  officer.  Lieutenant 
Colonel  [Samuel  P.]  Jenuison,  of  the  same  regiment.     Upon 


504  APPENDIX. 

arriving  at  the  camp  from  which  the  Indians  had  been  driven 
in  such  hot  haste,  vast  cxuantities  of  dried  meat,  tallow,  and 
buffalo  robes,  cooking  utensils,  and  other  indispensable  ar- 
ticles, were  found  concealed,  in  the  long  reeds  around  the  lake, 
all  of  which  were,  by  my  directions,  collected  and  burned. 
For  miles  along  the  route  the  prairie  was  strewn  with  like 
evidences  of  a  hasty  flight.  Colonel  McPhail  had  previously 
informed  me  that  beyond  Dead  Buffalo  lake,  as  far  as  his 
pursuit  of  the  Indians  had  continued,  I  would  find  neither 
wood  nor  water.  I  consequently  established  my  camp  on  the 
border  of  that  lake,  and  very  soon  afterward  parties  of  Indians 
made  their  appearance,  threatening  an  attack.  I  directed 
Captain  [John]  Jones  to  repair  with  his  section  of  six-pound- 
ers, supported  by  Captain  [Jonathan]  Chase,  with  his  com- 
pany of  pioneers,  to  a  commanding  point  about  six  hundred 
yards  in  advance,  and  I  proceeded  in  person  to  the  same  point. 
I  there  found  Colonel  Crooks,  who  had  taken  position  with 
two  companies  of  his  regiment,  commanded  by  Captain  [Grant] 
and  Lieutenant  Grant,  to  cheek  the  advance  of  the  Indians  in 
that  quarter.  An  engagement  ensued  at  long  range,  the  In- 
dians being  too  wary  to  attempt  to  close,  although  greatly 
superior  in  numbers.  The  spherical  case  from  the  six  pound- 
ers soon  caused  a  hasty  retreat  from  that  locality,  but,  per- 
ceiving it  to  be  their  intention  to  make  a  flank  movement  on 
the  left  of  the  camp  in  force,  Captain  [Oscar]  Taylor,  with  his 
company  of  Mounted  Eangers,  was  dispatched  to  retard  their 
progress  in  that  quarter.  He  was  attacked  by  the  enemy  in 
large  numbers,  but  manfully  held  his  ground  until  recalled 
and  ordered  to  support  Lieutenant  Colonel  Averill,  who,  with 
two  companies  of  the  Sixth  regiment,  deployed  as  skirmish- 
ers, had  been  ordered  to  hold  the  savages  in  check.  The 
whole  affair  was  ably  conducted  by  these  officers,  but  the  in- 
creasing numbers  of  the  Indians,  who  were  well  mounted,  en- 
abled them,  by  a  circuitous  route,  to  dash  toward  the  extreme 
left  of  the  camp,  evidently  with  a  view  to  stampede  the  mules 
herded  on  the  shore  of  the  lake.  This  daring  attempt  was 
frustrated  by  the  rapid  motions  of  the  companies  of  Mounted 
Rangers,  commanded  by  Captains  [Eugene  M.]  Wilson  and 
[Petei-  Ji.]  Davy,  wlio  met  tlu;  enemy  and  repulsed  them  with 
loss,  while  Major  McLanMi,  with  equal  jiromptitude,  threw 
out,  along  an  extended  line,  the  six  companies  of  the  Sixth 
regiment  under  his  immediate  command,  thus  entirely  secur- 


APPENDIX.  505 

ing  that  flank  of  the  camp  from  further  attacks.  The  savages, 
again  foiled  in  their  design,  fled  with  precipitation,  leaving  a 
number  of  their  dead  upon  the  prairie,  and  the  battle  of 
"Dead  Buffalo  Lake"  was  ended. 

On  the  twenty-seventh,  I  resumed  the  march,  following 
the  trail  of  the  retreating  Indians,  until  I  reached  Stony  lake, 
where  the  exhaustion  of  the  animals  required  me  to  encamp, 
although  grass  was  very  scarce. 

The  next  day,  the  twenty-eighth,  there  took  place  the 
greatest  conflict  between  our  troops  and  the  Indians,  so  far  as 
the  numbers  were  concerned,  which  I  have  named  the  battle 
of  "Stony  Lake."  Eegularly  alternating  each  day,  the  Tenth  ' 
regiment,  under  Colonel  Baker,  was  in  the  advance  and  lead- 
ing the  column,  as  the  train  toiled  up  the  long  hill.  As  I 
passed  Colonel  Baker,  I  directed  him  to  deploy  two  compa- 
nies of  the  Tenth  as  skirmishers.  Part  of  the  wagons  were 
still  in  the  camp,  under  the  guard  of  the  Seventh  regiment, 
when  I  perceived  a  large  force  of  mounted  Indians  moving 
rapidly  upon  us.  I  immediately  sent  orders  to  the  several 
commands  promptly  to  assume  their  positions,  in  accordance 
with  the  program  of  the  line  of  march;  but  this  was  done, 
and  the  whole  long  train  completely  guarded  at  every  poinfe 
by  the  vigilant  and  able  commanders  of  regiments  and  corps, 
before  the  orders  reached  them.  The  Tenth  gallantly  checked 
the  advance  of  the  enemy  in  front;  the  Sixth  and  cavalry  on 
the  right,  and  the  Seventh  and  cavalry  on  the  left,  while  the 
six-pounders  and  two  sections  of  mountain  howitzers,  under  the 
efficient  direction  of  their  respective  chiefs,  poured  a  rapid 
and  destructive  fire  from  as  many  different  points.  The  vast 
number  of  the  Indians  enabled  them  to  form  two-thirds  of  a 
circle,  five  or  six  miles  in  extent,  along  the  whole  line  of  which 
they  were  seeking  for  some  weak  point  upon  which  to  precipi- 
tate themselves.  The  firing  was  incessant  and  rapid  from 
each  side;  but  as  soon  as  I  had  completed  the  details  of  the 
designated  order  of  march,  and  closed  up  the  train,  the  column 
issued  in  line  of  battle  uj)on  the  prairie,  in  the  face  of  the  im- 
mense force  opposed  to  it,  and  I  resumed  my  march  without 
any  delay.  This  proof  of  confidence  in  our  own  strength  com- 
pletely destroyed  the  hopes  of  the  savages,  and  completed 
their  discomfiture.  "With  yells  of  disappointment  and  rage, 
they  fired  a  few  parting  volleys,  and  then  retreated  with  all 
expedition.  It  was  not  possible,  with  our  jaded  horses,  to 
overtake  their  fleet  and  comparatively  fresh  ponies. 


506  APPENDIX. 

This  eugagement  was  the  last  desperate  effort  of  the  com- 
bined Dakota  bands  to  prevent  a  farther  advance  on  our 
part  toward  their  ftimilies.  It  would  be  difficult  to  estimate 
the  number  of  warriors,  but  no  cool  and  dispassionate  obser- 
ver would  probably  have  placed  it  at  a  less  figure  than  from 
2,200  to  2,500.  'No  such  concentration  of  force  has,  so  far  as 
my  information  extends,  ever  been  made  by  the  savages  of 
the  American  continent.  It  is  rendered  certain,  from  infor- 
mation received  from  various  sources,  including  that  obtained 
from  the  savages  themselves,  in  their  conversations  with  our 
half-breed  scouts,  that  the  remnant  of  the  bands  who  escaped 
with  Little  Crow  had  successively  joined  the  Sissetons,  the 
Cut-Heads,  and  finally  the  Ihank-ton-ais,  the  most  powerful 
single  band  of  the  Dakotas,  and,  together  with  all  these,  had 
formed  an  enormous  camp  of  nearly,  or  quite,  10,000  souls. 

To  assert  that  the  courage  and  discipline  displayed  by  offi- 
cers and  men  in  the  successive  engagements  with  this  formid- 
able and  hitherto  untried  enemy  were  signally  displayed  would 
but  ill  express  the  admiration  I  feel  for  their  perfect  steadi- 
ness, and  the  alacrity  with  which  they  courted  an  encounter 
with  the  savage  foe.  No  one  for  a  moment  seemed  to  doubt 
the  result,  however  great  the  preponderance  against  us  in 
numerical  force.  These  wild  warriois  of  the  plains  had  never 
been  met  in  battle  by  American  troops,  and  they  have  ever 
boasted  that  no  hostile  army,  however  numerous,  would  dare 
to  set  foot  upon  the  soil  of  which  they  claimed  to  be  the  undis- 
puted masters.  Now  that  they  have  been  thus  met,  and  their 
utmost  force  defied,  resisted,  and  utterly  broken  and  routed, 
the  lesson  will  be  a  valuable  one,  not  only  in  its  effect  upon 
these  particular  bands,  but  upon  all  the  tribes  of  the  North- 
west. 

When  we  went  into  camp  on  the  banks  of  Apple  river,  a 
few  mounted  Indians  could  alone  be  seen.  Early  the  next 
morning  I  dispatched  Colonel  McPhail,  with  the  companies  of 
the  Mounted  Rangers  and  the  two  six-pounders,  to  harass  and 
retard  the  retreat  of  the  Indians  across  the  Missouri  river,  and 
followed  with  the  main  column  as  rapidly  as  possible.  We 
reached  the  woods  on  the  border  of  that  stream  shortly  after 
noon  on  the  twenty-ninth,  but  the  Indians  had  crossed  their 
families  (luring  the  preccMJiiig  night,  and  it  took  but  a  short 
time  for  the  men  to  follow  them  on  their  i)onies.  The  hills  on 
the  opposite  side  were  covered  with  the  men,  and  they  had 
probaWly  formed  the  determination  to  oppose  our  passage  of 


APPENDIX.  507 

the  river,  both  sides  of  which  were  here  covered  with  a  dense 
growth  of  underbrush  and  timber  for  a  space  of  more  than  a 
mile.  I  dispatched  Colonel  Crooks  with  his  regiment,  which 
was  in  the  advance,  to  clear  the  woods  to  the  river  of  Indians, 
which  he  successfully  accomplished  without  loss,  although 
fired  upon  fiercely  from  the  opposite  side.  He  reported  to 
me  that  a  large  quantity  of  transportation,  including  carts, 
wagons,  and  other  vehicles,  had  been  left  behind  in  the  woods. 
I  transmitted,  through  Mr.  Beever,  a  volunteer  aid  on  my 
staff,  an  order  to  Colonel  Crooks  to  return  to  the  main  column 
with  his  regiment,  the  object  I  had  in  view  in  detaching  him 
being  fully  attained.  The  order  was  received,  and  Mr.  Bee- 
ver was  intrusted  with  a  message  in  return,  containing  infor- 
mation desired  by  me,  when,  on  his  way  to  headquarters,  he 
unfortunately  took  the  wrong  trail,  and  was  the  next  day  found 
where  he  had  been  set  upon  and  killed  by  an  outlying  party 
of  the  enemy.  His  death  occasioned  much  regret  to  the  com- 
mand, for  he  was  esteemed  by  all  for  his  devotion  to  duty  and 
for  his  modest  and  gentlemanly  deportment.  A  private  of 
the  Sixth  regiment,  who  had  taken  the  same  trail,  was  also 
shot  to  death  with  arrows,  probably  by  the  same  party. 

There  being  no  water  to  be  found  on  the  prairie,  I  pro- 
ceeded down  the  Missouri  to  the  nearest  point  on  Apple  river, 
opposite  Burnt  Boat  island,  and  made  my  camp.  The  follow- 
ing day  Colonel  Crooks,  with  a  strong  detachment  of  eleven 
companies  of  infantry  and  dismounted  cavalry,  and  three  guns, 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Jones,  was  dispatched  to  de- 
stroy the  property  left  in  the  woods,  which  was  thoroughly 
performed,  with  the  aid  of  Lieutenant  Jones  and  a  portion  of 
the  pioneer  corps.  From  one  hundred  and  twenty  to  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  wagons  and  carts  were  thus  disposed  of.  During 
this  time  the  savages  lay  concealed  in  the  grass  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  river,  exchanging  occasional  volleys  with  our 
men.  Some  execution  was  done  upon  them  by  the  long  range 
arms  of  the  infantry  and  cavalry,  without  injury  to  any  one 
of  my  command. 

I  waited  two  days  in  camp,  hoping  to  open  communication 
with  General  Sully,  who,  with  his  comparatively  fresh  mount- 
ed force,  could  easily  have  followed  up  and  destroyed  the 
enemy  we  had  so  persistently  hunted.  The  long  and  rapid 
marches  had  very  much  debilitated  the  infantry,  and  as  for 
the  horses  of  the  cavalry  and  the  mules  employed  in  the  trans- 


508  APPENDIX. 

portation,  they  were  utterly  exhausted.  Under  all  the  cir- 
cumstances, I  felt  that  this  column  had  done  everything  pos- 
sible within  the  limits  of  human  and  animal  endurance,  and 
that  a  farther  pursuit  would  not  only  be  useless,  as  the  In- 
dians could  cross  and  recross  the  river  in  much  less  time  than 
could  my  command,  and  thus  evade  me,  but  would  necessarily 
be  attended  with  the  loss  of  many  valuable  lives.  For  three 
successive  evenings  I  caused  the  cannon  to  be  fired,  and  signal 
rockets  sent  up,  but  all  these  elicited  no  reply  from  General 
Sully,  and  I  am  apprehensive  he  has  been  detained  by  insur- 
mountable obstacles.  The  point  struck  by  me  on  the  Missouri 
is  about  forty  miles  by  land  below  Fort  Clarke,  in  latitude  46"* 
42',  longitude  100°  85'. 

The  military  results  of  the  expedition  have  been  highly 
satisfactory.  A  march  of  nearly  six  hundred  miles  from  St. 
Paul  has  been  made,  in  a  season  of  fierce  heats  and  unprece- 
dented drought,  when  even  the  most  experienced  voyageurs 
predicted  the  impossibility  of  such  a  movement.  A  vigilant 
and  powerful,  as  well  as  confident,  enemy  was  found,  succes- 
sively routed  in  three  different  engagements,  with  a  loss  of  at 
least  one  hundred  and  fifty  killed  and  wounded  of  his  best  and 
bravest  warriors,  and  his  beaten  forces  driven  in  confusion  and 
dismay,  with  the  sacrifice  of  vast  quantities  of  subsistence, 
clothing,  and  means  of  transportation,  across  the  Missouri 
river,  many,  perhaps  most  of  them,  to  perish  miserably  in 
their  utter  destitution  during  the  coming  fall  and  winter. 
These  fierce  warriors  of  the  prairie  have  been  taught,  by  dear- 
bought  experience,  that  the  long  arm  of  the  government  can 
reach  them  in  their  most  distant  haunts,  and  punish  them  for 
their  misdeedsj  thatthey  are  utterly  powerless  to  resist  the  at- 
tacks of  a  disciplined  force,  and  that  but  for  the  interposition 
of  a  mighty  stream  between  us  and  them,  the  utter  destruc- 
tion of  a  great  camp  containing  all  their  strength  was  certain. 
It  would  have  been  gratifying  to  us  all  if  the  murdering 
remnant  of  the  Minday,  Wakomton,  and  Wakpaton  bands 
could  have  been  extirpated,  root  and  branch;  but  as  it  is,  the 
bodies  of  many  of  the  most  guilty  have  been  left  unburied  on 
the  praii-ios,  to  be  devoured  by  wolves  and  foxes. 

I  am  gratified  to  be  abk^  to  state  that  the  loss  sustained  by 
mj'  column  in  actual  c(>ml)at  was  very  small.  Three  men  of 
the  cavalry  were  killed  and  four  wounded,  one,  I  fear,  fatally. 
One  private  of  the  same  regiment  was  killed  by  lightning  dur- 


APPENDIX.  509 

ing  the  first  engagement,  and  Lieutenant  [Ambrose]  Freeman 
of  Company  D,  also  of  the  Mounted  Eangers,  a  valuable  offt- 
cer,  was  pierced  to  death  with  arrows  on  the  same  day  by  a 
party  of  hostile  Indians,  while,  without  my  knowledge,  he 
was  engaged  in  hunting  at  a  distance  from  the  main  column. 
The  bodies  of  the  dead  were  interred  with  funeral  honors,  and 
the  graves  secured  from  desecration  by  making  them  in  the 
semblance  of  ordinary  rifle-i>its. 

It  would  give  me  pleasure  to  designate  by  name  all  those 
of  the  splendid  regiments  and  corps  of  my  command  who  have 
signalized  themselves  by  their  gallant  conduct,  but  as  that 
would  really  embrace  officers  and  men,  I  must  content  myself 
by  bringing  to  the  notice  of  the  major  general  commanding 
such  as  came  immediately  under  my  own  observation. 

I  cannot  speak  too  highly  of  Colonels  Crooks  and  Baker, 
and  Lieutenant  Colonel  Marshall,  commanding,  respectively, 
the  Sixth,  Tenth,  and  Seventh  regiments  Minnesota  Volun- 
teers, and  Lieutenant  Colonels  Averill  and  .Tennison,  and 
Majors  McLaren  and  Bradley,  and  of  the  line  officers  and  men 
of  these  regiments.  They  have  deserved  well  of  their  country 
and  of  their  state.  They  were  ever  on  hand  to  assist  me  in 
my  labors,  and  active,  zealous,  and  brave  in  the  performance 
of  duty.  Of  Colonel  McPhail,  commanding  the  Mounted 
Eangers,  and  of  Majors  [John  H.]  Parker  and  [Orrin  T.] 
Hayes,  and  the  company  officers  and  men  generally,  I  have 
the  honor  to  state  that,  as  the  cavalry  was  necessarily  more 
exposed  and  nearer  the  enemy  than  the  other  portions  of  the 
command,  so  they  alike  distinguished  themselves  by  unwaver- 
ing courage  and  splendid  fighting  qualities.  The  great  de- 
struction dealt  out  to  the  Indians  is  mostly  attributable  to  this 
branch  of  service,  although  many  were  killed  and  disabled  by 
the  artillery  and  infantry.  Captain  Jones  and  his  officers  and 
men  of  the  battery  were  ever  at  their  posts,  and  their  pieces 
were  served  with  much  skill  and  effect.  To  Captain  [Jona- 
than] Chase  of  the  pioneers,  and  his  invaluable  company,  the 
expedition  has  been  greatly  indebted  for  service  in  the  pecu- 
liar line  for  which  they  are  detailed. 

Captain  [William  E.]  Baxter's  company  (H)  of  the  Ninth 
regiment,  having  been  attached  to  the  Tenth  regiment,  as  a 
part  of  its  organization,  temporarily,  upheld  its  high  reputa- 
tion for  efficiency,  being  the  equal  in  that  regard  of  any  other 
company. 


510  APPENDIX. 

The  surgical  department  of  the  expedition  was  placed  by 
me  in  the  charge  of  Surgeon  [Alfred]  Wharton,  as  medical 
director,  who  has  devoted  himself  zealously  and  efficiently  to 
his  duties.  In  his  official  report  to  these  headquarters  he  ac- 
cords due  credit  to  the  surgeons  and  assistants  of  the  several 
regiments  present  with  him. 

Of  the  members  of  my  own  staff,  I  can  affirm  that  they 
have  been  equal  to  the  discharge  of  the  arduous  duties  im- 
posed on  them.  Captain  [Rollin  C]  Olin,  my  assistant  adju- 
tant general,  has  afforded  me  great  assistance;  and  for  their 
equal  gallantry  and  zeal  may  be  mentioned  Captains  Pope 
and  Atchison,  Lieutenants  Pratt  and  Hawthorne,  and  Captain 
Cox,  temporarily  attached  to  my  staff,  his  company  having 
been  left  at  Camp  Atchison. 

The  quartermaster  of  the  expedition.  Captain  Corning,  and 
Captain  Kimball,  assistant  quartermaster,  in  charge  of  the 
pioneer  train,  have  discharged  their  laborious  duties  faithfully 
and  satisfactorily;  and  for  Captain  Forbes,  commissary  of  sub- 
sistence, I  can  bear  witness  that  but  for  his  activity,  atten- 
tion, and  business  capacity,  the  interests  of  the  government 
would  have  suffered  much  more  than  they  did,  by  the  misera- 
ble state  in  which  many  of  the  packages  containing  subsistence 
stores  were  found. 

Chief  guides,  Major  J.  R,  Brown  and  Pierre  Bottineau, 
have  been  of  the  greatest  service,  by  their  experience  and 
knowledge  of  the  country;  and  the  interpreter.  Rev.  Mr. 
Riggs,  has  also  rendered  much  assistance  in  the  management 
of  the  Indian  scouts.  The  scouts,  generally,  including  the 
chiefs,  McLeod  and  Duley,  have  made  themselves  very  use- 
ful to  the  expedition,  and  have  proved  themselves  faithful, 
intrepid,  and  intelligent. 

I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  the  reports  of  Colo- 
nels Crooks,  Baker,  and  Lieutenant  Colonel  Marshall,  com- 
manding, respectively,  the  Sixth,  Tenth,  and  Seventh  regi- 
ments of  Minnesota  Volunteers,  and  of  Colonel  McPhail,  com- 
manding First  regiment  Mounted  Rangers.  ^  I  am.  Major,  very 
respectfully,  Your  Obedient  Servant, 

H.  H.  Sibley, 
Brigadier  General,  Commanding. 
Major  J.  F.  Meline, 

yi.Hsintant  Adjutant  General,  Department  of  the  Northwest. 

1  War  of  tlic  Itcliclliou,  Omdal  Ucconls,  etc.,  Series  I.,  Vol.  XXII.,  Part  I.,  pp.  352-359. 


APPENDIX.  511 

.    Beport  of  Colonel  Samuel  McPhail,  First  Minnesota  Mounted 

Bangers. 

In  Camp  on  the  Plains,  August  5,  1863. 
General:  Oa  the  twenty-fourth  of  July,  1803,  pursuant 
to  your  order  to  recover  the  body  of  Dr.  J.  S.  Weiser,  surgeon 
First  Minnesota  Mounted  Rangers,  murdered  by  the  Indians, 
I  proceeded  to  the  hills  in  rear  of  Camp  Sibley,  with  Compa- 
nies A  and  D  of  my  regiment.  When  some  five  hundred 
yards  from  camp,  we  were  fired  u^ion  by  the  Indians  occupy- 
ing the  summit  of  the  hill.  I  immediately  ordered  Company 
A,  under  Captain  E.  M.  Wilson,  to  advance  and  fire  upon  the 
enemy,  which  was  done  in  good  style.  The  ground  being 
rocky  and  broken.  Companies  A,  D,  and  E  were  ordered  to 
dismount  and  skirmish  the  hills.  Companies  B  and  F,  under 
Major  [O.  T.]  Hayes,  and  Company  L,  under  Captain  [P.  B.] 
Davy,  to  support  them.  The  First  battalion,  under  Major 
[J.  H.]  Parker,  cleared  the  hills  and  drove  the  Indians  some 
two  miles,  followed  by  Companies  B  and  F,  mounted.  Here 
I  met  Lieutenant  Colonel  W.  E.  Marshall,  Seventh  Minnesota 
Volunteers,  and  requested  him  to  protect  my  right  flank, 
which  he  did  in  gallant  style.  Major  Parker  was  then  ordered 
to  rally  the  companies  of  his  battalion  and  prepare  to  engage 
the  enemy,  mounted.  I  then  moved  forward  of  the  skirmish- 
ers with  Companies  B  and  F,  and  ordered  a  charge  ujjon  the 
enemy  posted  on  the  highest  peak  of  the  range,  known  as  the 
"Big  Hills."  This  order  was  promptly  obeyed,  and  the  In- 
dians dislodged  from  their  position  and  driven  toward  the 
plains  west  of  the  hills.  While  descending  the  hills,  I  ordered 
another  charge  by  Company  B,  under  Captain  [Horace]  Aus- 
tin. While  in  the  act  of  carrying  out  this  order,  one  man  was 
instantly  killed  by  lightning  and  another  seriously  injured. 
This  occasioned  a  momentary  confusion;  order,  however,  was 
soon  restored,  and  we  pushed  the  enemy  from  their  positions 
on  the  hills  and  in  the  ravines  in  our  front  to  the  plains  below. 
I  then  ordered  a  rally.  Companies  A,  B,  F,  and  L  assembled, 
and  we  pushed  forward  upon  the  Indians,  who  had  taken  refuge 
behind  a  few  rude  and  hastily  constructed  intrenchments  in 
their  encampments,  from  which  they  were  quickly  dislodged, 
and  a  running  fight  commenced.  At  this  juncture,  Lieuten- 
ant [J-  C]  Whipple,  Third  Minnesota  Battery,  reached  us 
with  one  six-pounder,  his  horses  entirely  given  out,  in  conse- 


512  APPENDIX. 

quence  of  wliich  he  could  only  give  the  fleeing  enemy  t^\^o 
shots,  which  apparently  threw  them  in  still  greater  confusion. 
I  then  again  ordered  the  charge,  which  was  kept  up  until  we 
had  reached  at  least  fifteen  miles  from  the  first  point  of  attack, 
and  during  which  we  drove  them  from  their  concealment  in 
the  rushes  and  wild  rice  of  Dead  Buffalo  lake,  by  a  well-di- 
rected volley  from  the  deadly  carbines,  ran  into  their  lines 
five  times,  continuing  the  fight  till  nearly  dark,  when  Compa- 
nies H,  D,  and  G  arrived,  and  I  received  your  order  to  return 
to  Camp  Sibley,  at  the  Big  Hills;  and  some  time  having  been 
consumed  in  collecting  our  wounded,  and  providing  transpor- 
tation for  them,  we  attempted  to  return,  and  only  succeeded 
in  reaching  camp  at  5  A.  m.  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-fifth, 
having  in  the  darkness  been  unable  to  preserve  our  course, 
and  having  been  in  the  saddle  twenty-four  hours  without 
guide,  provisions,  or  water.  The  number  of  Indians  engaged 
could  not  have  been  less  than  1,000,  and  would  doubtless  reach 
1,500  warriors.  The  losses  of  my  regiment,  including  a  skir- 
mish on  Sunday  evening,  the  twenty-sixth,  at  Dead  Buffalo 
lake,  are  as  follows:^ 

Dr.  J.  S.  Weiser,  surgeon,  and  Lieutenant  A.  Freeman, 
Company  D,  were  murdered  by  the  Indians. 

The  number  of  Indians  known  to  have  been  killed  by  the 
Mounted  Eangers  is  thirty-one,  all  found  with  the  peculiar  mark 
of  cavalry  upon  them.  Doubtless  many  more  were  killed  by 
the  Eangers,  as  the  wounded  concealed  themselves  in  the 
marshes,  where  it  was  impossible  to  follow  them  with  cavalry. 

In  this  report  I  esteem  it  a  duty,  and  it  affords  me  great 
pleasure,  to  say  of  the  officers  and  men  under  my  command, 
who  were  engaged  in  this  series  of  fights  and  hand-to-hand 
encounters,  that,  without  exception,  the  utmost  coolness  and 
bravery  was  displayed,  the  only  difficulty  I  encountered  being 
that  of  restraining  the  wild  enthusiasm  of  the  troops  during 
the  succession  of  cavalry  charges,  and  I  can  only  say  of  them 
» further  that  they  have  won  for  themselves  a  reputation  of 
which  veteran  troops  might  well  be  proud. 

It  is  also  a  duty  and  gratification  to  mention  favorably  the 
nameof  First  Lieutenant  [E.  A.]  Goodell,  acting  adjutant,  whose 
aid  in  the  hottest  of  the  fight  rendered  me  great  service;  also 

1  Noiuinal  list  shows  three  men  killed  ami  four  wounded. 


APPENDIX.  513 

the  name  of  John  Martin  of  Company  P,  who  bore  dispatches 
with  certainty,  celerity,  and  security.  ^  I  am,  General,  very 
respectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

Sam.  McPhail, 
Colonel,  Commanding  Mounted  Rangers. 
Brigadier  General  H.  H.  Sibley, 

Commanding  Exiieditionary  Force. 


Beport  of  Colonel  William  Crooks,  Sixth  Minnesota  Infantry. 

Camp  Williston,  Dakota,  August  5,  1863. 

Sir:  Pursuant  to  order  of  Brigadier  General  H.  H.  Sibley, 
this  regiment  rejiorted  at  Camp  Pope,  Minnesota,  for  service 
in  the  expedition  directed  against  the  Sioux  Indians.  The 
march  was  taken  up  early  on  the  morning  of  the  sixteenth, 
and  on  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  June  the  forces  encamped  at  the 
foot  of  Lake  Traverse,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  nineteen 
miles  from  Camp  Poi)e.  From  this  point  a  train  was  dis- 
patched to  Fort  Abercrombie  for  supplies,  the  guard  consist- 
ing of  three  companies  of  infantry,  including  Company  H  of 
the  Sixth  regiment,  Captain  [W.  K.]  Tattersall,  one  battalion 
of  cavalry.  Major  [J.  H.]  Parker  commanding,  and  one  section 
of  artillery,  the  whole  under  command  of  Lieutenant  Colonel 
[J.  T.]  Averill  of  this  regiment.  The  brigade  left  Lake  Trav- 
erse on  the  thirtieth  of  June,  and  reached  the  first  crossing 
of  the  Cheyenne  river  on  the  evening  of  the  fourth  of  July, 
distant  from  the  foot  of  Lake  Traverse  seventy-four  miles. 
At  this  point,  called  Camp  Hayes,  the  command  laid  over  six 
days,  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  supply  train  from  Fort  Aber- 
crombie. The  train  arrived  on  the  ninth  of  July,  and  the  ex- 
pedition resumed  the  line  of  march  on  the  morning  of  the 
eleventh.  From  this  point  to  the  second  crossing  of  the  Chey- 
enne, where  we  arrived  on  the  seventeenth,  the  distance  was 
eighty-three  miles. 

On  the  morning  of  the  eighteenth,  we  resumed  the  march, 
and  made  Camp  Atchison,  on  Lake  Emily,  the  day's  march 
being  twelve  miles.  At  this  point  I  was  directed  to  lay  out 
an  intrenched  camp,  and  a  force  was  selected  from  the  several 
regiments  to  hold  the  same,  with  a  view  to  disembarrassing 
the  active  force  of  all  men  unable  to  march,  and  of  all  supplies 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  359,  360. 
33 


514  APPENDIX. 

not  actually  necessary  in  a  more  rapid  pursuit  of  the  enemy. 
Companies  G  and  C  of  my  regiment  were  designated  by  me 
as  part  of  the  garrison,  together  with  invalids  from  all  other 
companies. 

Having  put  the  command  in  light  marching  order,  on  the 
morning  of  the  twentieth  of  July,  with  twenty-five  days'  ra- 
tions, the  command  again  commenced,  with  renewed  energy, 
the  pursuit  of  the  Sioux;  and  at  noon  on  the  twenty-fourth, 
at  a  distance  of  seventy-eight  miles  from  Camp  Atchison,  a 
shout  from  the  advance  told  that  our  pursuit  had  not  been  in 
vain.  The  savages  lined  the  crests  of  the  surrounding  hills, 
covering  their  camp  some  five  miles  to  the  southwest.  By 
direction  of  the  general,  the  Sixth  regiment,  together  with 
Company  M  of  the  Mounted  Rangers,  under  command  of 
Lieutenant  [D.  B.]  Johnson,  and  a  section  of  artillery,  under 
command  of  Lieutenant  [H.  H.]  "Western,  occupied  the  east 
front,  and  threw  up  earthworks,  supporting  the  guns.  About 
this  time  Surgeon  Weiser  of  the  Mounted  Rangers,  in  com- 
pany with  others,  rode  up  the  heights  and  engaged  in  con- 
versation with  the  Indians,  who,  true  to  their  proverbial 
treachery,  pierced  his  manly  heart  at  the  moment  he  offered 
them  bread.  Observing  this  act,  I  at  once  deployed  Com- 
panies E,  I,  and  K  well  to  the  front,  and  with  Company  E, 
under  command  of  Captain  [Rudolph]  Schoeneman,  together 
with  Captain  [Jonathan]  Chase's  company  (A)  of  the  Ninth 
regiment,  on  Schoeneman's  left,  supported  by  Captains  [T.  S.] 
Slaughter  and  [W.  W.]  Braden,  drove  the  savages  for  three 
miles,  and  prevented  their  turning  our  left. 

Lieutenant  Colonel  Averill  was  directed  by  me  to  advance 
three  companies  to  support  the  extreme  left,  where  a  strong 
demonstration  was  being  made,  Major  McLaren  remaining  in 
command  of  the  reserve  and  camp. 

The  movements  were  well  and  regularly  made,  the  officers 
and  men  displaying  those  traits  of  most  consequence  to  sol- 
diers. My  advance  was  checked  by  an  order  to  draw  in  my 
lines  to  the  lines  of  the  skirmishers  of  the  other  regiments  to 
my  right,  and  to  report  in  person  to  the  brigadier  general 
comniaiiding.  Having  turned  the  command  over  to  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Averill,  with  instructions  to  draw  in  his  men,  I  re- 
ported to  Ccueral  Sil)l(\y,  and,  in  conformity  with  his  orders, 
I  (lispalchcd  a  mcsscngcM-  to  Majoi-  McLaren  to  come  forward, 
with  all  haste,   with  five  companies,  to  the  support  of  the 


APPENDIX.  515 

Mounted  Eangers,  who  were  driving  the  Indians  on  toward 
their  camp,  at  the  moment  supported  by  the  Seventh  infantry 
and  Captain  A.  J.  Edgerton's  company  of  the  Tenth.  The 
major  came  forward  at  a  double-quick  with  Companies  A,  B, 
D,  I,  and  K,  and  reported  to  me  some  four  miles  in  the  ad- 
vance, where  General  Sibley  was  awaiting  the  advance  of 
reinforcements.  I  immediately  reported  to  the  general  the 
arrival  of  my  men,  and  soon  thereafter  was  ordered  to  return 
to  camp. 

The  next  day  the  camp  was  moved  some  four  miles,  in  or 
derto  recruit  the  animals,  and  the  command  rested  until  Sun- 
day morning,  the  twenty-sixth  of  July,  when  the  march  was 
resumed,  and,  having  marched  fourteen  miles,  the  Sixth  regi- 
ment leading,  the  Indians  again  assembled  for  battle.  The 
regiment  at  once  deployed  skirmishers,  and  advanced  steadily, 
driving  the  Indians,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Averill,  with  marked 
coolness  and  judgment,  commanding  the  extended  line  of  skir- 
mishers, while  the  reserve,  under  McLaren,  was  but  too  eager 
to  engage.  At  2  p.  M.,  General  Sibley  coming  to  the  extreme 
front,  and  observing  the  state  of  affairs,  pushed  the  cavalry 
to  our  right,  with  a  view  to  massing  the  Indians  in  front;  also 
ordering  Captain  [John]  Jones  forward  with  the  field  pieces. 
Major  McLaren  was  now  ordered  to  take  the  reserve  to  camp, 
one  and  one-half  miles  to  the  rear,  the  front  being  held  by 
three  companies  of  the  Sixth  and  Company  A  of  the  Xinth, 
the  whole  supporting  Lieutenant  [J.  C]  Whipple  with  his 
section  of  the  battery. 

The  Indians  observing  McLaren's  movement,  having  made 
a  feint  to  the  left,  made  a  desperate  attack  upon  the  north 
front,  with  a  view  to  destroying  our  transportation;  but  the 
major  had  his  men  well  in  hand,  and,  throwing  them  rapidly 
on  the  enemy,  completely  foiled  this  their  last  move,  and  the 
savages,  giving  a  parting  volley,  typical  of  their  rage  and 
disappointment,  left  a  field  where  heavy  loss  and  defeat  but 
retold  their  doom. 

Too  much  praise  cannot  be  awarded  Captain  Oscar  Taylor 
of  the  Mounted  Eangers,  who  chafed  for  an  order  to  advance, 
and  who  bore  his  part  nobly  when  that  order  was  finally 
given.  His  horses  being  exhausted,  this  officer  dismounted 
his  men,  and,  as  skirmishers,  added  their  strength  to  that  of 
Company  A,  Sixth  regiment,  where,  under  the  immediate  eye 
of  Colonel  Averill,  they  did  splendid  service.      Lieutenant 


516  APPENDIX. 

Whipple,  in  direct  charge  of  the  guns,  was,  as  usual,  cool 
and  efficient;  and  Captain  Jones  had  but  another  opportunity 
of  congratulating  himself  upon  the  efficiency  of  his  battery. 

The  march  was  resumed  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty- 
seventh,  and  in  the  afternoon  we  camped  on  Stony  lake, 
having  marched  eighteen  miles.  No  demonstrations  were 
made  by  the  Indians  during  the  night;  but  as  the  column  was 
forming  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-eighth,  and  the  trans- 
portation was  somewhat  scattered,  the  wily  foe  saw  his  oppor- 
tunity, and,  to  the  number  of  2,000  mounted  men,  at  least, 
made  a  most  daring  charge  upon  us.  The  Sixth  regiment 
holding  the  centre  of  the  column,  and  being  upon  the  north 
side  of  the  lake.  Lieutenant  Colonel  Averill  commenced  de- 
ploying the  right  wing,  and  having  deployed  strongly  from 
my  left,  so  as  to  hold  the  lake,  the  advance  was  ordered.  The 
men  went  boldly  forward  and  worked  splendidly.  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Averill  displaying  much  judgment  in  an  oblique  for- 
mation to  cover  a  threatened  movement  on  my  right  by  the 
Indians  in  great  force,  who,  whooping  and  yelling,  charged 
our  lines.  The  consequences  must  have  proven  destructive 
in  the  extreme  had  the  lake  and  flanks  not  been  stifly  held. 
The  savages  were  driven  back,  reeling  under  their  repulse, 
and  the  general  commanding  coolly  and  determinedly  formed 
his  column  of  march  in  face  of  the  attack,  the  object  of  which 
was  manifold:  First,  to  destroy  our  transportation,  and,  second, 
to  delay  our  advance,  allowing  their  families  more  time  to 
escape. 

No  time  was  lost;  the  column  moved  on,  and  by  9  A.  M. 
our  advance  saw  the  masses  of  the  retreating  foe.  The  pur- 
suit was  continued  until  late,  when  we  camped  on  Apple 
river.  Men  and  horses  were  not  in  a  condition  to  pursue 
that  night,  but  early  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-ninth,  with 
the  regiment  in  the  advance,  pursuit  was  commenced,  and, 
after  marching  six  miles  and  overcoming  a  rise  of  ground,  our 
eyes  first  beheld  the  timber  on  the  Missouri  river,  distant  nine 
miles. 

General  Sibley  had  with  much  forethought,  early  that 
morning,  dispatched  Colonel  McPhail  and  his  regiment,  with 
Cai)tain  Jones  htkI  liis  lield  pieces,  to  the  front,  with  the  view 
of  intercepting  the  savages  ere  they  crossed  the  river.  Eap- 
idly  McPhail  pnslied  forward,  but  the  Indians'  rear  was  cov- 
ered by  a  dense  forest  and  a  tangle  of  prickly  ash  and  thorn 


APPENDIX.  517 

bushes,  almost  impenetrable.  Our  advance  was  soon  up,  and 
by  order  of  the  general,  the  Sixth  regiment  was  ordered  to 
scour  the  woods  to  the  river,  and  ascertain  the  exact  position 
of  the  enemy.  I  dejoloyed  Companies  D,  I,  and  K,  command- 
ed by  Captains  [J.  C]  Whitney,  Slaughter,  and  Braden,  as 
skirmishers,  under  the  command  of  Major  McLaren,  while 
the  five  other  companies,  under  Colonel  Averill,  were  held  as 
a  reserve.  Captain  Jones  accompanied  me,  with  Whipple's 
and  Western's  sections  of  his  battery.  We  advanced  slowly 
but  surely,  shelling  the  woods  in  my  advance,  and  we  reached 
the  river  to  find  the  enemy  just  crossed,  after  abandoning  all 
their  transportation,  and  losing  many  of  their  women  and 
children,  drowned  in  their  hasty  flight.  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Averill,  with  the  reserve,  received  the  fire  of  an  enemy  in 
large  numbers,  concealed  in  the  tall  rushes  across  the  river, 
and  returned  it  with  spirit;  but  an  order  having  reached  me 
to  return,  a  retrograde  movement  was  made. 

Just  prior  to  the  fire  of  Colonel  Averill' s  reserve,  Lieu- 
tenant F.  J.  H.  Beaver,  an  English  gentleman,  of  qualities 
worthy  of  the  best,  a  fellow  of  Oxford  University,  and  a  vol- 
unteer aid  to  the  general,  rode  up  alone  and  delivered  the 
order  to  return.  I  wrote  a  short  dis5)atch,  and  directed  him 
to  return  at  once,  as  my  communication  might  prove  of  much 
value  to  the  general.  All  being  accomplished  that  was  de- 
sired, the  regiment  returned,  and  joined  the  camp  near  the 
mouth  of  Apple  river,  with  the  loss  of  N.  Miller  of  Company 
K.  On  my  return  to  camp,  I  learned  that  Beaver  had  never 
reported,  and  we  had  just  grounds  to  believe  him  lost.  Guns 
were  fired  and  rockets  sent  up,  but  our  friend  did  not  return. 

At  noon  on  the  thirtieth  of  July,  a  detachment,  consisting 
of  Companies  A,  I,  and  Kof  the  Sixth  regiment,  commanded 
by  Captains  [Hiram  P.]  Grant,  Slaughter,  and  Braden;  A,  B, 
and  H  of  the  Seventh,  commanded  by  Captains  [J.  K.]  Ar- 
nold, [James]  Gilfillan,  and  [A.  H.]  Stevens,  and  B,  F,  and  K 
of  the  Tenth  infantry,  commanded  by  Captains  [A.  J.]  Edger- 
ton,  [G.  T.]  White,  and  [M.  J.]  O'Connor,  and  Companies  L 
and  M  of  the  cavalry,  commanded  by  Captain  [P.  B.]  Davy 
and  Lieutenant  [D.  B.]  Johnson,  Lieutenants  Whipple's  and 
Dwelle's  sections  of  the  battery,  together  with  a  detachment 
of  Company  A,  Ninth  regiment  of  infantry,  as  pioneers,  un- 
der Lieutenant  [Harrison]  Jones,  the  whole  under  my  com- 
mand, was  ordered  to  proceed  to  the  place  where  I  had  been 


518  APPENDIX. 

the  day  before,  with  directions  to  destroy  the  transportation 
left  by  the  Indians,  and  to  find  the  body  of  Lieutenant  Beaver, 
and  that  of  Private  Miller,  if  dead,  and  engage  the  savages, 
if  the  opportunity  presented.  Lieutenant  Colonel  [S.  P.]  Jen- 
nison  of  the  Tenth  infantry.  Major  [R.  N.]  McLaren  of  the 
Sixth,  and  Major  [George]  Bradley  of  the  Seventh,  com- 
manded the  detachments  of  the  respective  regiments.  All 
the  objects  contemplated  were  fully  accomplished. 

It  was  apparent  that  Lieutenant  Beaver,  on  his  way  back 
with  my  dispatch,  became  embarrassed  by  the  many  trails 
left  by  an  alarmed  and  conquered  enemy,  lost  his  way,  and, 
after  bravely  confronting  a  large  party  of  savages  and  deal- 
ing death  into  their  ranks,  had  fallen,  pierced  with  arrows 
and  bullets,  his  favorite  horse  lying  dead  near  him.  He  was 
buried  in  the  trenches  with  the  honor  due  his  rank,  and  every 
heart  beat  in  sympathy  with  the  family  of  this  brave  stranger, 
as  we  retraced  our  steps  toward  the  boundary  of  our  own  state. 

I  take  pleasure  in  mentioning  the  services  of  Surgeon  and 
Acting  Medical  Director  [Alfred]  Wharton,  and  of  Assistant 
Surgeons  Daniels  and  Potter,  for  duties  performed  whenever 
they  were  needed  in  and  out  of  the  regiment;  also  to  Lieuten- 
ants Carver  and  [F.  E.]  Snow  for  assistance  fearlessly  rendered 
in  the  field.  Lieutenant  Colonel  Averill  and  Major  McLaren 
have  proven  themselves  worthy  of  the  regiment. 

For  the  officers  of  the  line  and  men,  I  proudly  say  that 
they  did  all  that  they  were  ordered  to  do  with  an  alacrity  and 
a  spirit  which  promises  well  for  the  future. 

I  make  the  distance  from  Fort  Snelling  to  the  Missouri, 
by  our  line  of  march,  five  hundred  and  eighty-five  miles.  ^ 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain.  Captain,  very  respectfully. 
Your  Obedient  Servant,  Wm.  Ckooks, 

Colonel,  Commanding  Sixth  Minnesota  Infantry. 
Captain  R.  C.  Olin,  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 


Reports  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  William  E.  Marshall,  Seventh  Min- 
nesota Infantry. 
Hdqrs.  Seventh  Regiment  Minnesota  Volunteers, 

Camp  Sii?ley,  on  Missouri  Coteau,  July  25,  1863. 
Captain:  I  respectfully  submit  the  following  report  of  the 
part  taken  by  the  Seventh  regiment  (eight  companies)  in  the 
engagement  with  the  Indians  yesterday: 

1   Il.id.,|.p.  :!r,l-3C-l. 


APPENDIX.  519 

Immediately  after  news  was  received  of  the  presence  of 
Indians,  the  regiment  was  formed  in  order  of  battle  on  the 
line  designated  by  you  for  the  protection  of  the  corral  —  sub- 
sequently the  camp  —  then  being  formed.  A  detail  often  men 
from  each  company  was  set  to  digging  trenches  in  front  of  our 
line,  which  fronted  a  little  south  of  east,  the  Big  Mound  being 
directly  east.  The  men  remained  upon  the  color  line  until 
the  firing  commenced  on  the  foothill  directly  in  front,  where 
Dr.  Weiser  was  killed.  I  was  then  ordered  to  deploy  Cap- 
tain [Eolla]  Banks'  company,  armed  with  Colt's  rifles,  along 
the  foothill  to  the  left  of  the  ravine  that  opened  toward  the 
Big  Mound.  This  done,  Major  Bradley  was  ordered  with  two 
companies.  Captains  Gilfillan  and  Stevens,  to  the  support  of 
the  first  battalion  of  cavalry,  then  out  on  the  right  of  the 
ravine,  where  Dr.  Weiser  was  shot.  Major  Bradley's  detach- 
ment became  engaged  along  with  the  cavalry.  As  soon  as  he 
reached  the  top  of  the  first  range  of  hills,  I  asked  to  advance 
to  their  support  with  the  other  five  companies,  and  received 
your  order  to  do  so.  With  Captains  Kennedy's,  Williston's, 
Hall's,  Carter's,  and  Arnold's  companies,  leaving  Captain 
Carter  in  charge  of  the  detail  to  finish  the  trenches  and  pro- 
tect camp,  I  advanced  at  double-quick  up  the  ravine  toward 
the  Big  Mound.  When  opposite  the  six-pounder  on  the  left 
of  the  ravine,  where  the  general  then  was,  I  deployed  the  five 
companies  at  three  paces  intervals,  without  any  reserve.  The 
line  extended  from  hill  to  hill,  across  the  ravine,  which  was 
here  irregular  or  closed.  Advancing  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
the  line  first  came  under  fire  when  it  reached  the  crest  of  the 
first  range  of  hills,  below  the  summit  peaks.  The  Indians 
then  occupied  the  summit  range,  giving  way  from  the  highest 
peak,  or  Big  Mound,  driven  by  the  fire  of  the  six-pounder,  but 
in  great  numbers  along  the  ridge  southward.  Captain  Eugene 
Wilson's  company  of  cavalry,  dismounted,  passed  to  my  left, 
and  occupied  the  Big  Mound,  while  I  charged  across  the  little 
valley,  and  up  to  the  summit  south  of  the  mound.  We  ad- 
vanced, firing,  the  Indians  giving  way  as  we  advanced.  I 
crossed  the  ridge  and  pursued  the  Indians  out  on  the  compara- 
tively open  ground  east  of  the  peaks.  Their  main  body,  how- 
ever, was  to  our  right,  ready  to  dispute  possession  of  the 
rocky  ridges  and  ravines  into  which  the  summit  range  is 
broken  in  its  continuation  southward.  I  had  flanked  them, 
turning  their  right,  and  now  gradually  wheeled  my  line  to  the 


520  APPENDIX. 

right  until  it  was  perpendicular  to  the  range,  my  left  being 
well  out  on  the  open  ground,  over  which  the  enemy's  extreme 
right  was  retreating.  I  thus  swept  southward,  and,  as  the 
open  ground  was  cleared, —  the  Indians  in  that  direction 
making  to  the  hills  two  miles  southeast,  just  beyond  which 
was  their  camp,  as  we  afterward  discovered, — I  wheeled  still 
more  to  the  right,  directing  my  attention  to  the  summit  range 
again,  where  the  Indians  were  the  thickest.  Advancing  rap- 
idly and  firing,  they  soon  broke,  and  as  I  reached  and  re- 
crossed  the  ridge  they  were  flying  precipitately  and  in  great 
numbers  from  the  ravines,  which  partly  covered  them,  down 
toward  the  great  plain,  at  the  southern  termination  of  the 
range  of  hills. 

Colonel  McPhail,  who,  with  a  part  of  the  cavalry,  had 
crossed  to  the  east  side  of  the  range,  and  kept  in  line  in  my 
rear,  ready  to  charge  upon  the  Indians  when  they  should  be 
dislodged  from  the  broken  ground,  now  passed  my  line  and 
pursued  the  enemy  out  on  the  open  plain.  After  I  recrossed 
the  range,  I  met  Major  Bradley,  and  united  the  seven  com- 
panies. He,  in  conjunction  with  Captains  Taylor's  and  An- 
derson's companies  of  the  cavalry,  dismounted,  had  performed 
much  the  same  service  on  the  west  slope  of  the  range  of  hills 
that  I  had  done  on  the  east  and  summit,  driving  the  enemy 
from  hill  to  hill  southward,  a  distance  of  four  or  five  miles  from 
camp  to  the  termination  of  the  range. 

Happily  no  casualties  happened  in  my  command.  Indeed, 
the  Indians  from  the  first  encounter  gave  way,  seeming  to  real- 
ize the  superior  range  of  our  guns,  yielding  ridge  after  ridge 
and  ravine  after  ravine,  as  we  occupied  successive  ridges  from 
which  our  fire  reached  them.  The  hat  of  one  soldier  and  the 
musket  stock  of  another  gave  proof  of  shots  received;  and 
other  like  evidences,  and  their  balls  occasionally  kicking  the 
dust  up  about  us,  and  more  rarely  whistling  past  us,  were  the 
most  sensible  evidences  of  our  being  under  fire. 

The  Indians  were  in  far  greater  numbers  than  I  had  seen 
them  before,  certainly  three  times  the  number  encountered  at 
the  relief  of  Birch  Coolie,  afterward  ascertained  to  be  350, 
and  more  than  double  the  number  seen  at  Wood  lake.  I 
judged  there  were  from  1,000  to  1,500.  Their  numbers  were 
more  apparent  after  we  had  combed  them  out  of  the  hills  into 
the  plain  below. 

After  uniting  the  battalion  at  the  southern  termination  of 


APPENDIX.  521 

the  great  hills,  I  received  orders  to  follow  on,  in  support  of 
the  cavalry  and  artillery.  The  men  were  suffering  greatly 
for  water,  and  I  marched  them  to  a  lake  on  the  right,  which 
proved  to  be  salty.  I  then  followed  on  after  the  cavalry.  We 
passed  one  or  more  lakes  that  were  alkaline.  It  was  the  expe- 
rience of  the  ancient  mariner : 

Water,  water  everywhere, 
Nor  any  drop  to  drink. 

"We  continued  the  march  until  nine  o'clock  at  night,  reach- 
ing a  point  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  from  camp.  The  men  had 
been  on  their  feet  since  four  o'clock  in  the  morning;  had  double- 
quicked  it  five  miles  during  the  engagement;  had  been  with- 
out food  since  morning,  and  without  water  since  noon.  They 
were  completely  exhausted,  and  I  ordered  a  bivouac. 

The  trail  was  strewed  with  buffalo  skins,  dried  meat,  and 
other  effects  abandoned  by  the  Indians  in  their  wild  flight. 
The  men  gathered  meat  and  ate  it  for  supper,  and  the  skins 
for  beds  and  covering.  At  this  point,  Captain  Edgerton's 
company  of  the  Tenth  regiment  joined  us,  and  shared  the 
night's  hardships.  We  had  posted  guard  and  lain  an  hour, 
when  Colonel  McPhail  returned  from  pursuing  the  Indians. 
He  urged  that  I  should  return  with  him  to  camp. 

The  men  were  somewhat  rested,  and  their  thirst  stimulated 
them  to  the  effort.  We  joined  him,  and  started  to  return  to 
camp.  About  midnight  we  got  a  little  dirty  water  from  the 
marshy  lake  where  the  Indians  had  been  encamped.  We 
reached  camp  at  daylight,  having  marched  nearly  twenty-four 
hours,  and  over  a  distance  estimated  at  from  forty  to  forty-five 
miles. 

My  thanks  are  due  to  Major  Bradley  and  the  line  ofl&cers 
for  steady  coolness  and  the  faithful  discharge  of  every  duty, 
and  to  every  man  of  the  rank  and  file  for  good  conduct 
throughout.  The  patient  endurance  of  the  long  privation  of 
water,  and  the  fatigue  of  the  weary  night  march,  in  return- 
ing to  camp,  after  such  a  day,  abundantly  prove  them  to  be 
such  stuff  as  true  soldiers  are  made  of.  ^     Very  respectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

Wm.  E.  Marshall, 

Lieutenant  Colonel,  Comdg.  Seventh  Regiment  Minnesota  Vols. 
Captain  E.  C.  Olin,  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 


1  Ibid.,  pp.  364-366. 


522  appendix. 

Hdqrs.  Seventh  Eegiment  Minnesota  Volunteers, 

Camp  Williston,  on  Missouri  Coteau,  August  5,  1863. 

Captain:  I  respectfully  submit  the  following  report  of  the 
part  taken  by  the  Seventh  regiment  in  the  pursuit  of,  and 
engagements  with,  the  Indians  subsequent  to  the  battle  of  the 
Big  Mound,  on  the  twenty-fourth  ultimo: 

In  my  report  of  the  twenty-fifth  of  July,  I  detailed  the  move- 
ments of  this  regiment  in  that  engagement.  On  Sunday,  the 
twenty- sixth  of  July,  when  the  column  was  halted  at  the  Dead 
Buffalo  lake  and  the  Indians  made  a  demonstration  in  front,  I 
was  with  the  right  wing  of  my  regiment,  on  the  right  flank  of 
the  train;  Major  [George]  Bradley  was  with  the  left  wing,  on 
the  left,  the  regiment  being  in  the  middle  of  the  column  in 
the  order  of  march.  Leaving  Major  Bradley  to  protect  the 
left  flank,  I  deployed  Company  B,  Captain  [A.  H.]  Stevens, 
obliquely  forward  to  the  right.  He  advanced  farther  than  I 
intended,  and  did  not  halt  until  on  the  right  of,  and  even  with, 
the  line  of  skirmishers  of  the  Sixth  regiment,  then  in  the 
extreme  advance.  Thinking  it  better  not  to  recall  him,  I  ad- 
vanced the  three  other  companies  of  the  right  wing  (Captains 
[James]  GilfiUan's,  [John]  Kennedy's,  and  [T.  G.]  Carter's) 
near  enough  to  supi:)ort  Company  B,  and  at  the  same  time 
protect  the  right  of  the  train,  which  was  then  well  closed  up 
on  the  site  of  our  camp.  I  remained  in  this  position,  with- 
out the  Indians  approaching  within  range,  until  orders  were 
given  to  go  into  camp.  I  had  but  just  dismissed  the  battalion 
from  the  color  line  to  pitch  tents,  when  the  bold  attack  of  the 
mounted  Indians  was  made  on  the  teams  and  animals,  in  the 
meadow  on  the  north  side  of  the  camp.  My  line  was  on  the 
south  side  of  the  camp.  I  assembled  and  re-formed  the  line, 
awaiting  an  attack  from  the  south;  but  the  Indians  that  ap- 
peared on  that  side  quickly  withdrew,  after  they  saw  the  re- 
pulse on  the  north  side,  not  coming  within  gun-shot  range. 

I  cannot  withhold  an  expression  of  my  admiration  of  the 
gallant  style  in  which  the  comj)anies  of  cavalry  (I  believe 
Captains  Wilson's  and  Davy's,  the  latter  under  Lieutenant 
[L.  S.]  Kidder)  dashed  out  to  meet  the  audacious  devils,  that 
were  very  nearly  successful  in  gobbling  up  the  teams  and 
loose  animals,  that  being  their  object.  The  Rangers,  putting 
their  horses  upon  the  run,  were  but  a  few  seconds  in  reaching 
the  Indians,  whose  quick  right-about  did  not  save  them  from 


APPENDIX.  523 

the  carbine  and  pistol  shots  and  saber  strokes,  that  told  so 
well.  I  also  saw  and  admired  the  promptitude  with  which 
Major  McLaren,  with  a  part  of  the  Sixth  regiment,  moved 
from  his  color  line  on  that  side  of  camp  to  the  support  of  the 
cavalry. 

On  the  morning  of  the  twenty-eighth  of  July,  at  Stony  lake, 
the  Seventh  regiment,  in  the  order  of  march,  was  in  the  rear. 
The  rear  of  the  wagon  train  was  just  filing  out  of  camp,  go- 
ing around  the  south  end  of  the  lake,  a  part  still  within  the 
camp  ground,  which  extended  almost  to  the  end  of  the  lake, 
my  regiment  being  in  line,  waiting  for  the  train  to  get  out, 
when  the  alarm  was  given.  Quickly  the  Indians  appeared 
south  of  the  lake,  and  circled  around  to  the  rear.  I  prompt- 
ly advanced  the  right  wing  on  the  flank  of  the  train,  south  of 
the  lake,  deploying  Captains  GilfiUan's  and  Stevens'  com- 
panies as  skirmishers.  With  these  and  Captains  Kennedy's 
and  Carter's  companies  in  reserve,  I  immediately  occui3ied  the 
broken,  rocky  ground  south  of  the  lake :  but  not  any  too  soon, 
for  the  Indians  had  entered  it  at  the  outer  edge,  not  over  five 
hundred  yards  from  the  train.  Lieutenant  [H.  H.]  Western  of 
the  battery,  was  in  the  rear,  and  promptly  reported  to  me.  I 
placed  his  section  of  the  battery  (two  mountain  howitzers)  on 
the  first  elevation  of  the  broken  ground,  outside  the  train. 
The  fire  of  my  line  of  skirmishers,  then  somewhat  advanced 
on  the  right  of  the  howitzers,  and  a  few  well-directed  shots 
from  Lieutenant  Western's  guns,  discouraged  the  Indians 
from  attempting  to  avail  themselves  of  the  cover  of  the  small 
hills  near  us,  dislodged  the  few  that  had  got  in,  and  drove  the 
whole  of  them  in  that  quarter  to  a  very  respectful  distance, 
quite  out  of  range.  One  shot  from  the  Indians  struck  the 
ground  near  my  feet,  while  I  was  locating  the  howitzers. 

While  I  was  thus  occupied.  Major  Bradley,  with  the  left 
wing  (Captains  Banks',  Williston's,  Hall's,  and  Arnold's  com- 
panies), advanced  out  upon  my  left  so  as  to  cover  the  portion 
of  the  train  still  in  camp  from  the  threatened  attack  from  the 
rear.  There  was  a  battalion  of  cavalry  also  protecting  the 
rear  to  the  left  of  Ma.ior  Bradley.  We  thus  formed  a  line  from 
the  left  flank  of  the  train  around  to  the  rear  that  effectually 
protected  it.  The  Indians  galloped  back  and  forth  just  out- 
side the  range  of  the  howitzers  and  our  rifles  of  almost  equal 
range,  until  the  order  came  to  close  up  the  train  and  continue 
the  march.     As  the  rear  of  the  train  passed  the  lake,  I  took 


524  APPENDIX. 

the  right  wing  to  the  right  flank  of  the  train,  near  the  rear, 
marched  left  in  front,  and  so  deployed  as  to  well  cover  that 
l^ortion  of  the  train.  Major  Bradley,  with  the  left  wing,  did 
similarly  on  the  left  flank.  As  the  column  moved  forward  the 
Indians  withdrew  out  of  sight. 

On  the  twenty-ninth  instant,  when  the  column  arrived  at 
the  Missouri  river,  the  Seventh  regiment  was  the  second  in  order 
of  march,  and  was  held  on  the  flanks  of  the  train,  while  the 
Sixth  regiment,  which  was  in  the  advance,  penetrated  the 
woods  to  the  river.  By  order  of  the  general.  Companies  B 
and  H  were  advanced  as  skirmishers,  obliquely  to  the  right  of 
the  head  of  train,  to  explore  for  water.  They  had  entered 
the  woods  but  a  little  way  when  recalled  by  an  aid  of  the 
general. 

On  the  thirtieth  instant.  Companies  A,  B,  and  H,  Captains 
Arnold,  Stevens,  and  Gilfillan,  were  detailed,  under  Major 
Bradley,  to  form  part  of  the  force  under  command  of  Colonel 
Crooks  to  again  penetrate  to  the  river,  to  destroy  the  wagons 
and  other  property  of  the  Indians  on  the  bank,  and  to  search  for 
the  bodies  of  Lieutenant  Beaver  and  Private  Miller  of  the 
Sixth  regiment.  (I  prepared  to  accompany  the  detachments, 
but  the  general  objected  to  both  the  field  officers  of  the  regi- 
ment leaving  camp  at  the  same  time.)  Major  Bradley,  with 
the  companies  named,  participated  in  the  successful  execu- 
tion of  the  duty  assigned  Colonel  Crooks. 

On  the  night  of  the  thirty-first  of  July,  at  our  camp  on  the 
Missouri,  I  was  at  expedition  headquarters,  when  the  general 
was  advised  of  hostile  Indians  having  been  heard  signaling  to 
one  another  around  the  camp.  I  returned  to  my  regiment, 
and  had  two  companies  placed  in  the  trenches.  Subsequently, 
while  I  was  lying  down,  Ma-jor  Bradley  received  instructions 
to  place  the  entire  regiment  along  the  front  and  flank  of  our 
part  of  the  camp.  This  was  done.  Major  Bradley  remained 
up  the  entire  night.  I  slept  a  part  of  the  night;  I  was  up, 
however,  about  two  o'clock,  when  the  Indians  fired  the  volley 
into  the  north  side  of  the  camp  —  that  occupied  by  the  Tenth 
regiment.  The  volley  was  evidently  aimed  too  high  for  effect 
in  the  tents  or  on  the  men  in  the  trenches.  That  side  of  the 
corral  was  open  for  passing  the  animals  in  and  out,  and  some 
of  the  shots  must  liave  struck  the  cattle,  in  addition  to  the 
horses  and  mules  killed.  The  cattle  daslied  out  of  the  corral 
utterly  wild  with  fright,  aud  making  the  ground  tremble. 


APPENDIX.  525 

They  were  turned  back  and  to  the  right  by  part  of  the  line  of 
the  Tenth  regiment.  They  then  came  phmging  toward  the  left 
companies  of  my  regiment.  These  rose  up  and  succeeded  in 
turning  them  back  into  the  corral.  It  was  providential  that  the 
camp  was  so  encircled  by  the  lines  of  the  several  regiments. 
But  for  the  living  wall  that  confronted  them,  the  animals 
would  have  escaped  or  stampeded  the  mules  and  horses,  with 
great  destruction  of  life  in  the  camp.  I  think  it  was  the  only 
time  I  have  felt  alarmed  or  startled.  The  prompt  return  of 
the  fire  of  the  Indians  by  the  companies  of  the  Tenth,  on  my 
left,  discouraged  any  further  attempt  on  the  camp. 

The  next  morning  we  resumed  the  march  homeward.  Since 
then  no  Indians  have  appeared,  and  nothing  relating  to  this 
regiment  occurred  to  add  to  the  above. 

In  concluding  this  report,  supplementary  to  that  made  on 
the  twenty-fifth  ultimo,  I  beg  to  add  a  few  things  of  a  more 
general  nature,  relating  to  the  regiment  I  have  the  honor  to 
command. 

The  health  of  the  regiment  during  the  long  march  from 
Camp  Pope  has  been  remarkably  good.  There  have  been 
but  two  cases  of  severe  Illness,  both  convalescent.  Surgeon 
[L.  B.]  Smith  and  Assistant  Surgeon  [A.  A.]  Ames  have  been 
assiduous  and  skillful  in  their  attention  to  the  medical  wants 
and  to  the  general  sanitary  condition  of  the  regiment.  My 
highest  acknowledgments  are  due  and  tendered  to  them.  Ad- 
jutant [E.  A.]  Trader  and  Quartermaster  [Ammi]  Cutler  have 
been  laborious  and  efficient.  During  the  first  three  weeks  of 
the  march,  Lieutenant  F.  H.  Pratt  was  acting  quartermaster, 
and  gave  the  highest  satisfaction  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties. 
Chaplain  [O.  P.]  Light,  who  remained  at  Camp  Atchison,  has 
been  faithful  in  his  ministrations.  The  non-commissioned 
staff  has  been  every  way  efficient.  The  good  order  and  dis- 
cipline of  the  regiment  have  been  perfect ;  but  two  or  three 
arrests  have  been  made,  and  those  for  trivial  offenses. 

I  feel  it  due  to  Major  Bradley  to  again  refer  to  him  in 
acknowledgment  of  the  assistance  he  has  constantly  rendered 
me.  Soon  after  the  march  began,  I  became  so  afflicted  with 
irritation  of  the  throat  from  dust  that  the  surgeon  forbade  my 
giving  commands  to  the  battalion.  Major  Bradley  has  re- 
lieved me  almost  entirely  in  this  respect,  and  has  otherwise 
shared  with  me  fully  the  responsibilities  of  the  command. 


526  APPENDIX. 

Grateful  to  the  Divine  Providence  that  has  guided  and  pro- 
tected us,  I  am,  Captain,  very  respectfully,  ^ 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

Wm.  E.  Marshall, 
Lieutenant  Colonel,  Comdg.  Seventh  Regt.  Minnesota  Infantry. 
Captain  R.  C,  Olin,  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 


Beport  of  Colonel  James  H.  Baker,  Tenth  Minnesota  Infa)itry. 
Hdqrs.  Tenth  Regiment  Minnesota  Infantry, 

Camp  Williston,  August  5,  1863. 

Captain:  I  have  the  honor  herewith  to  submit  a  report 
of  such  part  as  was  borne  by  my  regiment,  or  any  portion  of 
it,  in  the  several  actions  from  July  24th,  at  Big  Mound,  to  the 
Missouri  river. 

About  3:30  o'clock  on  Friday,  the  twenty-fourth  of  July, 
"while  on  the  march,  doing  escort  duty  in  the  centre,  I  received 
information  from  the  general  commanding  that  a  large  force  of 
Indians  was  immediately  in  our  front,  accompanied  by  an  order 
communicated  by  Lieutenant  Beaver  to  prepare  my  regiment 
for  action,  which  order  was  immediately  executed.  Mean- 
time the  train  was  being  corraled  on  the  side  of  the  lake;  after 
which  I  received  orders  to  form  my  regiment  on  the  color  line 
indicated  for  it,  immediately  in  front  of  the  corral,  and  front- 
ing outward  from  the  lake,  and  to  throw  up  intrenchments 
along  the  line,  which  was  speedily  done.  The  action  of  this 
day  began  on  my  right,  more  immediately  in  front  of  the  Sev- 
enth (which  regiment,  being  in  advance  during  the  day's 
march,  was  entitled  to  the  forward  position),  by  the  artillery 
under  Captain  Jones,  when,  at  4:30  p.  m.,  I  received  an  order 
by  Captain  Olin  to  deploy  a  company  to  support  this  battery. 
I  immediately  deployed  Company  B,  Captain  Edgerton,  and 
that  company,  though  fatigued  already  with  an  ordinary  day's 
march,  continued  with  the  battery  (marching  for  many  miles 
on  the  double-quick)  during  the  entire  pursuit  of  the  enemy, 
for  fifteen  miles,  and  throughout  the  night  till  sunrise  next 
morning,  when  they  returned  from  the  pursuit  to  camp,  having 
made  during  the  day  and  night  the  almost  unparalleled  march 
of  quite  fifty  miles. 

At  al)out  five  o'clock  I  received  an  order  by  Captain  Pope 
to  send  Lieutenant  Colonel  Jeunison  with  four  companies,  to 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  366-369. 


APPENDIX.  527 

be  deployed  and  to  follow  in  the  direction  of  the  retreating  ene- 
my, as  a  support  for  the  cavalry  and  artillery.  Colonel  Jenni- 
son  moved  forward,  with  Companies  A,  F,  C,  and  K,  five  miles, 
more  than  half  of  it  on  the  double  quick,  and  reported  his 
command  to  the  general  commanding,  at  that  time  in  the 
front.  After  resting  about  one  hour,  by  the  order  of  the  gen- 
eral commanding,  Colonel  Jennison  was  directed  to  return  to 
camp  with  his  force,  and  arrived  at  a  little  after  9  p.  m.  At 
the  same  time  that  the  first  order  above  alluded  to  was  given, 
I  was  directed  to  assume  command  of  the  camj),  and  make  the 
proper  dispositions  for  its  defense,  which  I  did  by  completing 
all  the  intrenchments  and  organizing  and  posting  such  forces 
as  were  yet  left  in  camp,  not  anticipating  the  return  of  our 
forces  that  night. 

The  action  of  the  twenty- sixth  of  July  took  place  on  the 
side  of  the  camp  opposite  from  my  regiment,  and,  consequent- 
ly, we  did  not  participate  in  it.  We  were,  however,  constant- 
ly under  arms,  ready  at  any  moment  for  orders  or  an  oppor- 
tunity. 

On  Tuesday,  the  twenty-eighth  of  July,  my  regiment  being 
in  the  advance  for  the  day's  march,  we  started  out  of  Camp  Am- 
bler at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  general  commanding, 
some  of  the  scouts,  and  a  few  of  the  headquarters  wagons  had 
preceded  my  regiment  out  of  camp,  and  were  ascending  the 
long  sloping  hill  which  gradually  rose  from  Stony  lake.  I  had 
just  received,  directly  from  the  general  commanding,  orders 
for  the  disposition  of  my  regiment  during  the  day's  march, 
when  the  scouts  came  from  over  the  hill  on  the  full  run,  shout- 
ing, "They  are  coming!  they  are  coming!"  Immediately  a 
very  large  body  of  mounted  Indians  began  to  make  their  ap- 
pearance over  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and  directly  in  front  of  my 
advancing  column.  I  instantly  gave  the  necessary  orders  for 
the  deployment  of  the  regiment  to  the  right  and  left,  which, 
with  the  assistance  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Jennison  and  the  great 
alacrity  of  commandants  of  companies,  were  executed  with 
the  utmost  rapidity,  though  a  portion  of  my  line  was  thrown 
into  momentary  confusion  by  the  hasty  passage  through  it  of 
the  returning  scouts  and  advance  wagons.  At  this  moment 
an  Indian  on  the  brow  of  the  hill  shouted,  "  We  are  too  late; 
they  are  ready  for  us."  Another  one  replied,  "But  remem- 
ber our  children  and  families ;  we  must  not  let  them  get  them." 
Immediately  the  Indians,  all  well  mounted,  filed  off  right  and 


528  APPENDIX. 

left  along  the  hill  in  my  front  with  the  utmost  rapidity.  My 
whole  regiment  was  deployed,  but  the  Indians  covered  my 
entire  front,  and  soon  far  outflanked  on  both  sides,  ajjpearing 
in  numbers  that  seemed  almost  incredible,  and  most  seriously 
threatening  the.  train  to  the  right  and  left  of  my  widely  ex- 
tended line.  The  position  of  the  train  was  at  this  moment 
eminently  critical.  It  had  begun  to  pass  out  of  the  corral 
around  both  ends  of  the  small  lake,  to  mass  itself  in  the  rear 
of  my  regiment,  in  the  usual  order  of  march.  The  other 
regiments  were  not  yet  in  position,  as  the  time  to  take  their 
respective  places  in  the  order  of  march  had  not  arrived. 
Fortunately,  however.  Captain  Jones  had  early  moved  out  of 
camp  with  one  section  of  artillery,  and  was  in  the  centre  of 
my  left  wing,  and  Lieutenant  Whipple,  with  another,  near  to 
the  centre  of  my  right,  which  was  acting  under  Colonel  Jen- 
nison. 

Simultaneously  with  the  deployment  of  the  regiment,  we 
began  a  steady  advance  of  the  whole  lineup  the  hill  upon  the 
foe,  trusting  to  the  speedy  deployment  of  the  other  infantry 
regiments  and  the  cavalry  for  the  protection  of  the  train,  so 
threatened  on  either  flank  at  the  ends  of  the  lake.  My  whole 
line  was  advancing  splendidly  up  the  hill,  directly  upon  the 
enemy,  the  artillery  doing  fine  work,  and  the  musketry  begin- 
ning to  do  execution,  when  I  received  a  peremptory  order  to 
halt  the  entire  line,  as  a  farther  advance  would  imperil  the 
train.  So  ardent  were  both  ofi&cers  and  men  for  the  advance, 
that  it  was  with  some  considerable  difficulty  that  I  could  efi'ect 
a  halt.  Believing  fully  that  the  great  engagement  of  the  ex- 
pedition was  now  begun,  and  seeing  in  my  front  and  reaching 
far  beyond  either  flank  more  than  double  the  number  of  In- 
dians that  had  hitherto  made  their  appearance,  I  took  advan- 
tage of  the  halt  to  make  every  preparation  for  a  prolonged  and 
determined  action.  Meantime  long-range  firing  continued 
throughout  the  entire  line,  and  frequently  the  balls  of  the 
enemy  would  reach  to,  and  even  pass  over,  my  men,  though 
it  was  evident  that  the  range  of  the  Indian  guns  bore  no  com- 
parison to  ours.  About  this  time  I  twice  received  the  order 
to  cause  the  firing  to  cease,  which  order  I  found  very  difficult 
to  execute,  owing  to  the  wide  extent  of  my  line  and  intense 
<'!ig(;rncss  of  the  men.  I  then  received  orders  that,  as  the 
train  was  closed  up,  I  should  form  my  regiment  in  order  of 
battle,  deploy  as  skirmishers,  holding  two  companies  in  re- 


APPENDIX.  529 

serve,  and  that,  thus  advancing,  our  order  of  march  would  be 
resumed  in  the  face  of  the  enemy.  In  a  few  minutes,  the  dis- 
positions being  made,  all  was  ready,  and,  in  the  order  of  bat- 
tle indicated,  we  passed  the  hill  and  found  that  the  enemy  had 
fled.  We  saw  them  but  once  again  for  a  moment,  on  a  dis- 
tant hill,  in  great  numbers,  when  they  entirely  disappeared. 
My  regiment  marched  in  deployed  order  of  battle  en  echelon 
at  the  head  of  the  column  for  eighteen  miles,  expecting  and 
ready  to  meet  the  enemy  at  any  moment. 

The  number  of  Indians  so  suddenly  charging  upon  us  was 
estimated  at  not  less  than  from  1,500  to  2,000.  They  were 
well  mounted  and  moved  about  with  the  utmost  rapidity  and 
with  their  characteristic  hideous  yells.  The  artillery,  under 
Captain  Jones  and  Lieutenant  Whipple,  did  great  execution, 
as  I  could  well  observe,  and  the  fire  of  my  men  did  effective 
service,  and  enabled  us  to  hold  the  enemy  at  bay  till  the  train 
was  closed  up  and  the  regular  dispositions  for  its  defense 
made.  At  least  three  of  the  enemy  were  seen  to  fall  by  the 
fire  from  my  line,  their  bodies  being  thrown  on  ponies  and 
rapidly  carried  away.  The  artillery  must  have  killed  and 
wounded  a  considerable  number.  Nothing  could  exceed  the 
eagerness,  firmness,  and  gallant  bearing  of  all  the  officers  and 
men  of  my  command  during  this  unexpected,  and,  by  far, 
numerically,  the  greatest  effort  the  Indians  had  yet  made 
upon  the  forces  of  the  expedition.  In  their  courage  and 
earnest  desire  to  clear  the  enemy  from  the  hill  by  a  double- 
quick  charge,  my  officers  and  men  were  a  unit.  Nothing  but 
the  immediate  peril  of  the  train  could  induce  them  to  cease 
the  advance  they  had  so  gallantly  begun. 

On  the  thirtieth  of  July,  while  at  Camp  Slaughter,  on  the 
Missouri,  I  received  an  order  to  send  three  companies  of  my 
regiment,  under  Lieutenant  Colonel  Jennison,  to  join  an  expe- 
dition under  Colonel  Crooks,  the  object  of  which  was  to  skir- 
mish through  the  timber  and  heavy  underbrush  to  the  river, 
and  destroy  the  property  of  the  Indians  known  to  be  upon 
its  banks.  This  most  laborious  task  was  assigned  to  Com- 
panies B,  F,  and  K,  and  a  portion  of  Company  C.  A  report 
of  their  operations  will,  of  course,  be  given  you  by  the  o£Bcer 
commanding  the  expedition. 

I  desire.  Captain,  to  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  to 
express  my  sincere  gratification  at  the  good  order,  faithful 
devotion  to  every  duty,  most  determined  perseverance  in  the 


530  APPENDIX. 

long  and  weary  marches,  uncomplaining  in  the  severe  guard 
and  trenching  labors,  submitting  unmurmuringly  to  every 
fatigue,  which  has  characterized  the  officers  and  men  of  my 
regiment  during  the  tedious  and  arduous  march  we  have 
made  to  the  distant  shores  of  the  Missouri  river.  It  is  with 
justifiable  pride  that  I  here  note  how  nobly  they  have  per- 
formed all  that  has  been  required  at  their  hands.  ^ 

I  have  the  honor  to  be.  Captain,  very  respectfully. 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

J.  H.  Baker, 
Colonel  Tenth  Regiment  Minnesota  Infantry. 
Captain  E.  C.  Olin, 

Assistant  Adjutant  General,  District  of  Minnesota. 


Headquarters  District  of  Minnesota, 

St.  Paul,  August  12,  1863-8:15  p.  m. 
Major  General  Pope: 

On  the  night  of  the  twenty  third  instant.  General  Sibley  was 
four  miles  from  Missouri  Coteau,  on  the  Indian  trail.  The  In- 
dian killed  was  Little  Crow.  His  son,  with  him  at  the  time, 
was  captured  at  Devil's  lake  by  a  detachment  of  troops  left 
behind  by  General  Sibley.  He  was  the  only  Indian  around 
there.  A  straggling  Sioux  tells  our  scouts  that  they  will  fight 
General  Sibley.  He  reports  the  General  near  Long  lake,  and 
General  Sully  in  the  vicinity.  He  says  that  Standing  Buffalo 
and  Sweet  Corn  have  left  the  main  body.  ^ 

S.  Miller, 
Colonel,  Commanding. 

Milwaukee,  August  14,  1863. 
Major  General  Hdlleck: 

The  following  dispatch  from  General  Sibley,  dated  August 
7th,  just  received: 

We  have  had  three  desperate  engagements  with  2,200  Sioux  warriors, 
in  each  of  which  they  were  routed  and  finally  driven  across  the  Missouri 
river,  with  the  loss  of  all  their  su])sistence,  wagons,  etc.  Our  loss  has  been 
small,  while  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  savages  have  been  killed 
and  wounded.     Forty-six  bodies  have  been  found. 

ir.    11.   SllJLKY, 

Riigadier  General. 

General  Sully  marched  from  Fort  Pierre  for  the  Big  Bend 
of  Missouri  river  on  the  twentieth  July,  with  1,200  cavalry 

1  n)i<i.,  r-p.  3n9-:t72. 

li  War  of  tliu  Kfl)(.-llioii,  OHicial  Records,  etc.,  Series  I.,  Vol.  XXII.,  Part  XL,  p.  449. 


APPENDIX.  531 

and  a  battery.  Will  doubtless  intercept  the  flying  Sioux  before 
they  can  cross  the  river.  Indian  hostilities  east  of  Missouri 
river  may  be  considered  ended.  ^ 

Jno.  Pope, 

Major  General. 


Headquarters  District  of  Minnesota, 

St.  Paul,  August  15,  1863-10  a.  m. 

Major  General  John  Pope,  Milwaukee : 

General  Sibley's  point  on  the  Missouri  river  was  forty  miles 
by  land  below  Fort  Clark.  Says  if  General  Sully  comes  up 
soon,  he  will  entirely  destroy  the  Indians.  For  three  nights 
he  fired  artillery  and  sent  up  signal  rockets,  but  received  no 
response  from  General  Sully.  Major  Selfridge  starts  with 
your  dispatch  to-day,  ^ 

S.  Miller, 
Colonel,  Commanding. 


Hdqrs.  Dist.  of  Minnesota,  Dept.  of  the  Northwest, 
In  the  Field,  sixty  miles  west  of  Fort  Ahercromhie, 
Camp  Stevens,  August  16,  1863. 
Major:  My  last  dispatch  of  the  seventh  instant  from  Camp 
Carter  contained  a  report  of  my  operations  against  the  hostile 
Sioux,  and  of  their  complete  discomfiture  in  three  separate 
engagements,  and  their  hurried  flight  across  the  Missouri 
river,  with  the  loss  of  large  quantities  of  provisions,  clothing, 
and  other  indispensable  articles.  So  severely  were  they  pun- 
ished also  by  the  fall  in  battle  of  many  of  their  bravest  and 
most  distinguished  warriors,  that  they  made  none  of  their 
customary  attempts  to  revenge  their  losses  by  night  attacks, 
excepting  in  one  case,  when  encamped  on  the  banks  of  the 
Missouri.  A  volley  was  fired  into  my  camp  about  an  hour 
after  midnight,  without  any  injury  being  the  result,  except- 
ing the  killing  of  one  mule  and  wounding  two  others.  The  fire 
was  promptly  returned  by  the  men  on  guard,  and  no  further 
demonstration  was  made  by  the  savages. 


1  Ibid.,  p.  451. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  433. 


532  APPENDIX. 

From  Camp  Carter  I  proceeded  to  the  intrenched  portion 
of  Camp  Atchison,  and,  breaking  up  the  encampment,  I  took  up 
the  line  of  march  with  the  column  toward  Fort  Abercrombie, 
and  am  thus  far  advanced  on  the  route. 

I  dispatched  Colonel  McPhail,  with  four  companies  of 
Mounted  Rangers  and  a  section  of  mountain  howitzers,  from 
Camp  Atchison,  with  the  directions  to  proceed  to  the  mouth 
of  Snake  river,  a  tributary  of  the  James  river,  where  a  small 
but  mischievous  band  of  E.  Yanktonnais  Sioux  are  supposed 
to  have  planted  corn,  to  make  prisoners  of  the  adult  males, 
or  destroy  them,  if  resistance  was  made;  thence  to  sweep 
the  country  to  the  head  of  the  Redwood  river,  and  down 
that  stream  to  the  Minnesota  river,  and  proceed  to  Fort  Ridg- 
ley  and  await  further  orders. 

The  region  traversed  by  my  column  between  the  first  cross- 
ing of  Cheyenne  river  and  the  Coteau  of  the  Missouri  is  for 
the  most  part  uninhabitable.  If  the  devil  were  permitted  to 
select  a  residence  upon  the  earth,  he  would  probably  choose 
this  particular  district  for  an  abode,  with  the  redskins'  mur- 
dering and  plundering  bands  as  his  ready  ministers,  to  verify- 
by  their  ruthless  deeds  his  diabolical  hate  to  all  who  belong 
to  a  Christian  race.  Through  this  vast  desert  lakes  fair  to 
the  eye  abound,  but  generally  their  waters  are  strongly  alka- 
line or  intensely  bitter  and  brackish.  The  valleys  between 
them  frequently  reek  with  sulphurous  and  other  disagreeable 
vapors.  The  heat  was  so  intolerable  that  the  earth  was  like  a 
heated  furnace,  and  the  breezes  that  swept  along  its  surface 
were  as  scorching  and  suffocating  as  the  famed  sirocco.  Yet 
through  all  these  difficulties  men  and  animals  toiled  on  until 
the  objects  of  the  expedition  were  accomplished. 

I  could  not  learn  from  the  Red  river  half-breeds  that  any 
of  the  Red  Lake  Chippewas  were  on  the  Red  river;  conse- 
quently, in  the  debilitated  condition  of  the  men  and  the  suf- 
fering state  of  the  animals,  I  deemed  it  improper  to  make  any 
movement  in  that  direction.  I  shall,  however,  on  my  return, 
make  a  demonstration  of  force  toward  Otter  Tail  lake,  and 
other  localities  where  the  Chippewa  Indians  are  usually  found, 
and  then  jjost  the  troops  under  my  command  so  as  to  protect 
the  frontier  at  all  points  from  the  few  roving  Indians  who  are 
said  to  infest  it. 

Should  General  Sully  take  up  the  pursuit  of  the  Indians  at 
the  point  on  the  Missouri  river  where  I  was  obliged  to  aban- 


APPENDIX.  533 

don  it,  as  I  trust  he  will,  and  inflict  further  chastisement  upon 
them,  it  might  be  consistent  with  the  security  of  the  Minne- 
sota frontier  to  diminish  the  force  in  this  military  district;  other- 
wise I  have  the  honor  to  submit  that  there  may  and  proba- 
bly will  be  a  further  necessity  for  the  use  of  the  whole  of  it  in 
further  operations  against  these  powerful  bands  should  they 
attempt,  in  large  numbers,  to  molest  the  settlements  in  retali- 
ation for  the  losses  they  have  sustained  during  the  late  engage- 
ments. 

So  soon  as  I  shall  reach  Fort  Abercrombie  —  in  five  or  six 
days  from  this  time — I  will  probably  obtain  such  additional 
information  of  the  state  of  things  along  the  border  as  will 
enable  me  to  act  uuderstandingly  in  the  disposition  of  my 
forces,  and  will  again  address  you  on  the  subject.^  I  am. 
Major,  very  respectfully. 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

H.  H,  Sibley, 
Brigadier  General,  Commanding. 
J.  F.  Meline, 

Acting  Assistant  Adjutant  General,  Milwaukee. 


Headquarters  Department  of  the  Northwest, 
Milwaukee,  August  20,  1863 

Major   General  H.    W.   Halleck,    General-in-Chief,    Washington, 

D.  C: 

General:  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  inclosed  reports 
of  Brigadier  General  Sibley  and  his  subordinates,  of  the  late 
Indian  campaign,  ^  and  the  battles  fought  with  the  hostile 
Sioux.  The  results  of  this  expedition  furnish  a  sufficient  com- 
mentary upon  the  representations  and  recommendations  made 
to  you  and  the  secretary  of  war  by  irresponsible  persons  con- 
cerning the  organization  and  conduct  of  this  expedition,  and 
the  condition  of  Indian  affairs  in  Minnesota.  It  is  easy  for 
persons  who  are  not  responsible  for  results  to  find  fault  and 
give  advice,  but  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  if  the  sugges- 
tions of and  others  had  been  adopted,  and  any  force  sent 

against  the  Indians  much  smaller  than  Sibley  took  with  him, 
such  force  would  have  been  cut  to  pieces  or  driven  back,  and  the 


1  War  of  the  Rebellion,  Official  Records,  etc.,  Series  I.,  Vol.  XXII.,  Part  I.,  pp.  907,  908. 

2  Probably  those  on  pp.  .'?o2-372.  Part  I.  of  Rebellion  Records,  etc. 


534  APPENDIX. 

■whole  of  the  hostile  Indians  precipitated  upon  the  frontier  set- 
tlements of  Minnesota  and  Iowa.  Of  course,  the  military  au- 
thorities would  have  been  held  accountable,  and  properly  so, 
■whoever  might  have  been  their  advisers,  and  ■whosesoever 
counsels  had  been  adopted.  It  is  safe  to  suppose  that  the  mili- 
tary authorities  ■who  are  responsible  have  taken  every  possi- 
ble means  to  acquaint  themselves  -with  the  true  condition  of 
affairs,  and  have  adopted  such  measures  as  ■will  meet  the  case. 
As  they  have  the  means  to  procure  information  ■which  private 
individuals  have  not,  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  but 
that  they  are  better  informed  than  any  private  citizen  ■what- 
soever upon  matters  peculiarly  their  own  business. 

I  submit  these  remarks  because,  although  the  persons  -who 
have  been  so  busy  in  fault-finding  in  the  matter  of  Indian  af- 
fairs in  this  department  have  been  completely  discomfited  by 
the  results  of  Sibley's  campaign,  it  may  be  certainly  predicted 
that  they  -will  not  be  long  resorting  to  the  same  course,  and 
with  the  same  confident  assurance.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
they  are  actuated  only  by  a  desire  to  promote  the  public  in- 
terest. 

General  Sully  has  not  made  the  progress  which  was  ex- 
pected of  him,  and  which  it  was  in  his  power  to  have  made, 
but  the  Indians  were  so  badly  worsted  by  Sibley,  and  are  in 
so  destitute  a  condition,  that  he  has  nothing  to  do  except  fol- 
low up  Sibley's  success  with  any  ordinary  energy,  and  the 
whole  of  the  Indians  of  the  Upper  Missouri  will  be  reduced  to 
a  state  of  quiet  which  has  not  obtained  for  some  years.  Gen- 
eral Sibley's  expedition  has  reached  Fort  Abercrombie  by  this 
date;  will  probably  reach  the  Mississippi,  or  those  stations 
near  it,  by  the  first  week  in  September.  It  is  my  present 
belief  (and  I  have  no  doubt  a  correct  one)  that  I  shall  be  able 
at  once  to  send  South  four  of  the  five  regiments  of  infantry  now 
in  Minnesota,  and  one  battery  of  artillery.  I  shall  expect  in- 
structions as  to  where  they  are  to  be  sent  in  time.  The  regi- 
ment of  Mounted  Rangers,  the  only  mounted  force  in  Minne- 
sota, will  be  disbanded  by  the  expiration  of  their  term  of  ser- 
vice about  October  1st.  I  would  request  that  authority  be 
given  to  re-enlist  five  hundred  of  tliem  (or  another  year,  under 
a  lieutenant  colonel.  They  have  horses  and  arms,  have  had 
much  experience  in  frontier  service,  and  will  be  in  good  con- 
dition. With  ouo,  n^giment  of  infantry  distributed  at  the  vari- 
ous i)ostH  in  Minnesota,  and  with  this  mounted  force  of  five 


APPENDIX.  535 

hundred  men,  I  think  the  security  of  the  frontier  will  be  ef- 
fected completely.  In  truth,  I  do  not  myself  believe  one  half 
of  this  force  will  be  needed;  but  some  time  will  elapse  before 
the  apprehensions  of  the  frontier  settlers  will  be  allayed,  and 
this  force  will  be  required  to  give  them  sufficient  confidence 
to  remain  on  their  farms.  ^     I  am.  General,  respectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

Jno.  Pope, 
Major  General^  Commanding, 


Hdqrs.  Dist.  of  Minnesota,  Dept.  of  the  Northwest, 

In  the  Field,  Camp  HacJcett, 
Fort  Abercrombie,  August  23,  1862. 

MA-JOR:  In  my  last  dispatches  to  headquarters  of  the  de- 
partment, I  inadvertently  omitted  to  state  that,  after  having 
left  Camp  Atchison  in  pursuit  of  the  hostile  Indians,  I  fell  in 
with  some  of  the  half-breed  hunters  from  Eed  river,  who 
Informed  me  that  while  the  main  body  of  the  savages  had 
gone  toward  the  Missouri,  a  small  camp  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
lodges  had  taken  the  direction  of  Devil's  lake,  and  would  be 
found  on  its  shores.  I  immediately  dispatched  orders  to  Major 
Cook,  dated  twenty-second  July,  to  send  Captain  Burt  of  the 
Seventh  Minnesota  Volunteers  with  two  companies  of  infantry 
and  one  of  cavalry,  to  scour  the  country  in  that  quarter. 

That  efficient  officer  took  up  the  line  of  march  on  the  twen- 
ty-fourth July,  and  during  eight  days'  absence  from  camp  he 
examined  thoroughly  the  region  to  the  west  of  Devil's  lake, 
without  discovering  any  Indians  or  fresh  traces  of  them,  except- 
ing one  young  man,  a  son  of  Little  Crow,  who  was  found  in  a 
state  of  exhaustion  on  the  prairie,  and  was  taken  prisoner 
without  resistance,  and  brought  into  Camp  Atchison.  He 
states  positively  that  his  father.  Little  Crow,  was  killed  at 
some  point  in  the  Big  Woods  on  the  Minnesota  frontier,  by 
shots  from  white  men,  while  his  father  and  himself  were  en- 
gaged in  picking  berries;  that  his  father  had  taken  with  him 
this  son  and  sixteen  other  men  and  one  woman,  and  gone  from 
the  camp,  then  at  Devil's  lake,  several  weeks  previously,  to 
the  settlements  in  Minnesota,  to  steal  horses,  Little  Crow 
stating  to  his  son  that  the  Indians  were  too  weak  to  fight 


1  War  of  the  Retellion,  Official  Records,  etc.,  Series  I.,  Vol.  XXII.,  Part  11.,  pp.  463,  464. 


536  APPENDIX. 

against  the  whites,  and  that  it  was  his  intention  to  secure 
horses,  and  then  to  return  and  take  his  family  to  a  distant 
part  of  the  country,  where  they  would  not  be  in  danger  from 
the  whites. 

He  has  repeated  the  statement  to  me  without  any  material 
variation,  and,  as  his  account  corroborates  the  newspaper 
reports  of  the  mode  in  which  two  Indians,  who  were  engaged 
in  picking  berries  were  approached  by  a  Mr.  Lampson  and 
his  son;  and  one  of  them  killed  and  the  body  accurately 
described,  there  is  no  longer  any  doubt  that  the  originator  of 
the  horrible  massacres  of  1862  has  met  his  death. 

I  have  brought  Wo-wi-napa,  Little  Crow's  son,  with  three 
other  Sioux  Indians,  taken  prisoners  by  my  scouts,  to  Fort 
Abercrombie,  where  they  are  at  present  confined.  I  have 
ordered  a  military  commission  to  convene  to-day  for  their 
trial,  the  proceedings  of  which  will  be  sent  you  when  com- 
pleted. The  scouts  took  prisoners  seven  women  and  three  or 
four  children,  who  were  in  the  camp  with  the  three  men,  but  I 
released  them  on  my  departure  from  James  river,  where  they 
were  found.  Two  of  the  women  were  fugitives  from  the 
reservation  on  the  Missouri  below,  being  recognized  by  the 
half-breed  scouts,  as  having  passed  the  winter  at  Fort  Snell- 
ing.  They  stated  that  they  had  left  the  reservation  in  com- 
pany with  three  men,  who  had  gone  to  the  main  camp  on  the 
Missouri. 

The  result  of  the  expedition  under  Captain  Burt  has 
proved  conclusively  that  there  are  very  few,  if  any,  Sioux  In- 
dians between  Devil's  lake  and  the  Missouri  river,  and  that  all 
the  bands  whose  haunts  are  in  the  immense  prairie  region  be- 
tween the  latter  stream  and  the  British  possessions  were  con- 
centrated in  the  great  camp  driven  by  my  forces  across  the 
Missouri. 

I  have  orgaiyzed  an  expedition,  composed  of  three  com- 
panies of  cavalry,  to  proceed  to  Otter  Tail  lake,  and  thence 
to  Fort  Ripley,  with  written  instructions  to  the  commanding 
officer,  Major  Parker.  I  shall  probably  dispatch  the  Tenth 
regiment,  Minnesota  Volunteers,  to  scour  the  country  from 
Sauk  Centre  to  Fort  Ridgley,  more  with  a  view  to  reassure 
the  settlers  along  the  Big  Woods  than  because  I  have  a  belief 
that  any  but  a  few  lurking  savages  are  to  be  found  now  on  the 
imme<liale  frontier,  I  shall  march  from  this  post  on  the  twen- 
ty-fifth with  the  remainder  of  my  column,  and  take  the  route 


APPENDIX.  537 

by  Alexandria  and  Sauk  Centre,  taking  such  measures  for  the 
security  of  the  border  as  I  may  deem  necessary. 

The  cavalry  expedition  under  Major  Parker  will  pass 
through  the  region  frequented  by  the  Pillager  and  other 
strong  bands  of  Chippewa  Indians,  and  will  have  a  decided 
moral  effect. 

I  will  report  my  movements  as  opportunities  present  them- 
selves. ^     I  am,  very  respectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

H.  H.  Sibley, 
Brigadier  General,  Commanding. 
J.  F.  Meline, 

Acting  Assistant  Adjutant  General,  Milwaukee. 


(Confidential.) 

Headquarters  Department  of  the  Northwest, 
Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  August  29,  1863. 

Hon.  E.  M.  Stanton, 

My  Dear  Sir:  The  returning  column  of  General  Sibley 
reached  Abercrombie,  on  the  Red  River  of  the  North,  on  the 
twenty-second  instant.  At  that  point  the  force  was  divided 
into  several  bodies,  which  are  now  engaged  in  scouring  the 
country  down  the  Big  Sioux  and  James  rivers,  as  far  as  the 
Iowa  line,  west  to  Kid  river,  and  visiting  the  Chippewas  at 
Red  lake.  Otter  Tail  lake,  etc.,  east  of  Kid  river,  so  that 
the  whole  Territory  of  Dakota,  the  northern  and  eastern  por- 
tions of  Minnesota,  and,  in  fact,  the  whole  country  east  of  the 
Missouri,  will  be  thoroughly  visited  and  searched  by  our  troops. 
I  do  not  suppose  that  there  are  now  ten  hostile  Sioux  Indians 
east  of  the  Missouri  river.  The  large  force  of  Indians,  three 
times  defeated  and  driven  across  the  Missouri  river,  with  the 
loss  of  all  their  winter  supplies  of  provisions  and  all  the  robes 
and  furs  for  winter  clothing,  will  not  be  able  to  return  to  Min- 
nesota this  winter,  if  ever,  in  a  body. 

General  Sully  reached  the  point  on  the  Missouri  where 
they  crossed  only  a  few  days  after,  and  will  undoubtedly  fol- 
low them  up.  As  he  has  only  cavalry,  he  can  do  this  with 
the  utmost  rapidity.  At  all  events,  with  a  large  cavalry  force 
he  has  constantly  interposed  between  thehositle  Sioux  of  Min- 


1  War  of  the  Rebellion,  Official  Records,  etc.,  Series  I.,  Vol.  XXII.,  Part  I.,  iip.  908,  909. 


538  APPENDIX. 

nesota  (now  south  of  the.Missouri  river)  and  the  State  of  Min- 
nesota, a  glance  at  the  map  will  exhibit  how  difficult,  if  not 
impossible,  it  will  be  for  these  Indians,  in  any  numbers,  to 
return  to  the  Minnesota  frontier  this  winter.  I  do  not  myself 
believe  that  there  is  the  slightest  likelihood  that  any  Indian 
hostilities  will  occur  again  in  that  state  from  Sioux  Indians. 
Small  parties  of  eight  or  ten  men  may  possibly,  at  great  risk, 
traverse  this  long  distance  and  commit  some  slight  depreda- 
tions; but  with  the  mounted  force  patrolling  the  frontier,  the 
risk  would  be  so  great  that  I  doubt  if  the  Indians  would  even 
attempt  this  much.  I  propose  to  leave  one  entire  regiment  of 
cavalry  (the  Sixth  Iowa)  this  winter  on  the  Upper  Missouri, 
at  Fort  Eandall  and  Fort  Pierre,  as  an  additional  precaution 
against  any  attempt  of  the  Sioux  to  recross  to  the  north  (east) 
side  of  the  Missouri  river,  and  again  in  the  spring  to  visit  the 
entire  Indian  nation  east  of  the  Eocky  Mountains.  I  also  pro- 
pose to  leave  in  Minnesota  an  infantry  regiment,  distributed 
at  the  several  posts  along  the  frontier,  with  the  mounted  force 
of  Hatch  and  five  hundred  men  of  the  Mounted  Eangers  to 
patrol  the  whole  line  of  frontier  between  these  stations.  I  do 
not  myself  believe  such  a  force  necessary,  but  in  deference  to 
the  natural  anxiety  of  the  people  after  the  atrocities  of  last 
autumn,  and  to  give  them  the  confidence  necessary  to  induce 
them  to  remain  on  their  farms,  I  think  it  well  to  keep  such  a 
force  in  Minnesota.  All  the  rest  of  the  force  in  that  state  I 
propose  to  send  South  within  a  few  weeks. 

I  have  thought  it  well  to  write  you  thus  fully  concerning 
affairs  in  Minnesota,  that  you  may  not  be  misled  by  represen- 
tations that  will  certainly  be  made  to  you.  Of  course,  it  is 
not  necessary  to  tell  you  that  there  will  be  an  influence  used 
to  keep  all  the  forces  in  Minnesota;  for  what  purposes  you  will 
be  at  no  loss  to  understand,  but  I  am  glad  to  say  that  the  per- 
sons who  will  thus  seek  to  influence  you  are  men  of  broken 
personal  and  political  fortunes,  who  have  objects  in  view  very 
remote  from  the  public  interests.  That  you  may  realize  what 
tht'Se  motives  are,  and  who  are  the  persons,  I  inclose  you  some 
extracts  from  letters  from  Colonel  S.  Miller,  the  nominee  of 
the;  late  Republican  convention  for  governor  of  Minnesota. 
H(;  will  be  elected  by  a  very  large  vote,  and  his  opinions,  there- 
f(H(i,  are  entitled  to  weight,  as  they  will  regulate  his  action  as 
governor.  You  will  see  at  onc(^  the  vei'ysame  names  as  of  the 
peiHons  who  have  been  infesting  the  war  department,  urging 


APPENDIX.  539 

movements  or  organizations,  and  finding  fault  with  the  con- 
duct of  military  affairs  in  Minnesota.  The  difference  is  that, 
whereas  a  couple  of  months  ago  they  were  ridiculing  the  size 
of  Sibley's  expedition,  and  urging  that  the  force  was  too  large; 
that  a  small  body  of  cavalry  was  sufficient;  that  Sibley  would 
not  see  an  Indian;  that  the  Indians  had  divided  into  small 
parties,  etc.,  now  they  complain  and  protest  that  the  whole  of 
the  force  in  Minnesota  is  absolutely  needed  for  their  protec- 
tion. Eesults  have  shown  how  far  they  were  right  two  months 
ago,  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  they  are  quite  as  far 
wrong  now  in  their  new  light.  That  the  coalition  between 
,  an  immaculate  Republican,  and ,  an  equally  im- 
maculate Democrat,  is  perfect,  you  will  be  at  no  loss  to  see 
from  Miller's  letters,  and  it  is  an  alliance  both  political  and 
financial.  It  will  be  utterly  broken  down  in  Minnesota  at  this 
election. 

I  inclose  also  the  resolutions  of  the  Copperhead  convention 
at  St.  Paul,  from  which  you  will  see  that,  properly  manipu- 
lated, they  resolve  that  the  Indian  war  must  be  vigorously 
prosecuted,  etc.,  which  means  that  all  the  troops  must  be  kept 
in  Minnesota  for  the  benefit  of  contractors.  The  Copper- 
head ticket  will  be  beaten  by  10,000  votes  at  least. 

The  alliance  between and is  well  enough  un- 
derstood in  Minnesota.     has  been  discarded  by  his 

party.  He  never  had  strength  in  it,  and  his  election  to  the 
senate,  resulting  from  competition  between  prominent  men  of 
the  party,  surprised  everybody.  To  his  other  disqualifica- 
tions and  unpopularity,  he  has  of  late  added  bad  personal 
habits,  and  in  his  desperation  at  the  certainty  of  falling  into 

total  obscurity  after  his  term  expires,  he  has  joined , 

who  is  about  as  desperately  broken  down  as  himself.  Whilst 
the  one  has  political  purposes,  the  other  has  financial,  and  my 

objection  to  and  his  organization  is  simply  because 

is  but  an  instrument  of ,  as  he  has  been  for  years, 

and  the  organization  is  simply  to  be  used  to  promote  the  ef- 
fects I  have  named.   I  shall  use 's  battalion,  however,  to 

the  best  purpose,  replacing  it  by  troops  I  shall  send  South.  Of 
the  CO  operation  of  the  interior  department  with  these  people, 
I  dislike  to  speak.  The  history  of  the  Indian  agents  and  the 
management  of  Indian  affairs  on  the  frontier  by  the  Indian 
department  would  fully  develop  the  reason  of  this  alliance. 
Whilst  Indian  agents  become  rich,  Indians  become  poor,  dis- 


540  APPENDIX. 

satisfied,  and  hostile.  It  will  not  be  difficult  for  you  to  arrive 
at  these  facts  from  anybody  who  lives  on  the  frontier  and  is  not 
connected  with  these  transactions.  Many  very  good  and  hon- 
est people  are  affected  by  the  influences  x>ut  in  operation  by 
these  men,  and  the  fear  of  Indian  hostilities  which  they  excite; 

but  this  will  wear  out  in  time.     Last  winter threw  the 

whole  eastern  frontier  of  the  state  into  a  paroxysm  of  alarm 
by  telling  them  gravely,  as  he  came  through  the  country  from 
Lake  Superior,  that,  as  soon  as  the  snow  fell,  the  whole  Chip- 
pewa Nation  would  take  the  war  path  and  ravage  the  settle- 
ments, and  I  was  overwhelmed  with  petitions  for  troops  and 
cries  of  alarm,  based  on  this  statement.  Its  object  was  appar- 
ent, but  there  was  not,  and  has  not  been,  the  slightest  intima- 
tion of  such  a  thing.  The  design  is  to  keep  up  excitement  and 
alarm,  to  continue  the  Indian  war,  and  to  keep  the  troops  in 
Minnesota. 

I  have  thought  it  well  that  you  should  understand  these 
things,  so  as  to  act  advisedly  upon  the  representations  which 
will  undoubtedly  be  made  to  you.  I  am  confident  that  you 
will  meet  the  case  wisely,  and  I  shall  carry  out  your  wishes 
with  all  zeal  and  energy.  ^  Very  Truly  Yours, 

Jno.  Pope. 


August  24  [1863]. 

Major  General  John  Pope,  Milwaukee,  Wis. , 

My  Dear  General:  I  gratefully  acknowledge  the  receipt 
of  your  kind  communication  of  the  twenty-first  instant,  and 
rejoice  to  learn,  by  the  copy  of  your  letter  to  the  general-in- 
chief,  that  General  Sibley  and  his  gallant  command  are  so 
well  appreciated  at  department  headquarters.  Nothing  could 
have  been  better  devised  than  your  double  expedition  for  the 
utter  extermination  of  the  savage  miscreants,  and  nothing 
more  unfortunate  than  General  Sully's  failure  to  be  "in  at  the 
death."  Colonel  Marshall,  the  bearer  of  dispatches  from  Gen- 
eral Sibley,  says  that,  poor  as  the  grass  is  upon  the  Missouri^ 
it  is  quite  as  good  as  was  found  by  General  Sibley's  expedition 
anywhen;  on  the  route.  I  earnestly  hope  that  General  Sully 
will  get  back  and  give  another  blow  to  the  murderers;  other- 
wise I  shall  liave  serious  apprehensions  that  squads  of  the 
enemy  will  again  annoy  our  frontier  settlements. 

I  War  of  t lie  Kol.cllion.OIIicial  Kccords,  ('10.,  SericH  I.,  Vol.  X  X  1 1.,  I'lirl  II.,  pp.  493-495. 


APPENDIX.  541 

I  am  glad  to  see  that  you  properly  appreciate  the  trading, 
corrupt  Indian  politicians  of  Minnesota.  They  are  selfish  and 
heartless  as  Satan,  and,  were  it  not  for  the  encouragements  held 
out  to  them  at  Washington,  we  should  consign  the  whole  tribe 
to  merited  infamy.     I  was,  a  few  days  since,  without  a  single 

effort  of  my  own,  and  against  the  labored  protests  of 

and  company,  unanimously  nominated  for  governor.  Their 
only  hope  now  is  to  perpetuate  their  power  by  nominating 

against  me.     He  is  hesitating,  whether  to  try  his  chances 

or  not;  but  next  Wednesday  will  determine.  If  he  accepts, 
I  may  have  to  resign  as  soon  as  General  Sibley  returns.  He 
must  in  that  event  be  beaten,  and  badly  beaten,  and  with  his 
fall  the  whole  Moccasin  brood,  except  as  they  are  fostered  at 
Washington,  will  topple  to  their  final  destruction. 

^^  ^  ^  ^  ^  -^  ^  '^ 

August  20  [26?],  1863. 

*    *    *    The  friends  of and are  as  rabid  as 

ever.  They  denounce  the  expedition  and  General  Sibley  as  a 
failure,  and  your  dispatch  suggesting  that  the  war  east  of  the 
Missouri  is  at  an  end  as  a  terrible  outrage  upon  Minnesota. 
They  pretend  to  believe  that  we  shall  have  2,000  Sioux  war- 
riors upon  the  borders  within  a  month,  and,  of  course,  many 
honest,  apprehensive  people  believe  them.  I  do  hope  that 
General  Sully  has  dealt  them  such  a  blow  as  to  utterly  deprive 
them  of  the  capacity  to  return.  ^ 

Ever  Your  Friend, 

S.  MlLLEK. 


Headquarters  Department  of  the  Northwest, 
Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  August  25,  1863. 

Brigadier  General  Alfred  Sully,  Fort  Pierre, 

General:  Your  dispatch  of  the  seventeenth  is  received. 
It  is  deeply  to  be  regretted  that  more  rapid  progress  was  not 
made  by  the  expedition  under  your  command.  By  referring 
to  my  letters  to  yourself  and  your  predecessor  in  command, 
you  will  find  how  great  was  the  stress  laid  upon  the  necessity 
of  placing  yourself  in  time  in  position  to  co-operate  with  Gen- 
eral Sibley,  and  I  am  constrained  to  believe  that  with  energy 
this  much  at  least  could  have  been  accomplished.     General 

1  Ibid.,  p.  495. 


542  APPENDIX. 

Sibley  had  exactly  the  same  kind  of  wagons  and  mules  you 
had  (as  General  Allen,  chief  quartermaster  of  the  department, 
himself  informs  me).  He  had  but  little,  if  any,  more  wagon 
transportation  in  proportion  to  the  strength  of  his  command 
than  you  have,  yet  he  marched  600  miles  through  the  same 
character  of  country,  which  had  been  subjected  to  the  same 
drought,  and  with  a  large  infantry  force,  defeated  the  Indians 
in  three  engagements,  drove  them  across  the  Missouri  river, 
and  actually  reached  a  point  on  that  river  160  miles  above  Fort 
Pierre.  Whilst  your  expedition,  all  cavalry,  only  marched 
160  miles,  his  column,  consisting  largely  of  infantry,  marched 
600  in  that  time.  Under  these  circumstances,  you  will  admit 
that  it  is  hard  for  me  to  understand  the  delay  which  has  at- 
tended your  movements.  It  is  painful  for  me  to  find  fault,  nor 
do  I  desire  to  say  what  is  unpleasant,  but  I  feel  bound  to  tell 
you  frankly  that  your  movements  have  greatly  disappointed 
me,  and  I  can  find  no  satisfactory  explanation  of  them.  As 
soon  as  you  receive  this  letter,  you  will  please  cross  to  the 
south  side  of  the  Missouri  and,  having  loaded  your  wagons 
with  provision  and  ammunition,  and  such  medical  supplies 
as  are  absolutely  needed,  you  will  make  a  thorough  campaign 
in  Nebraska,  proceeding  as  far  to  the  west  and  northwest  as 
possible  before  the  winter  overtakes  you. 

It  is  desirable  that  some  cavalry  force  be  stationed  this 
winter  at  Fort  Pierre,  or  in  that  neighborhood,  and  provision 
should  be  made  accordingly.  You  will  please  send  the  neces- 
sary orders  to  the  proper  officer  of  your  district  for  this  pur- 
pose. Your  command  will  occupy  Fort  Pierre  or  the  neigh- 
borhood. Fort  Randall,  and  Sioux  City,  for  the  winter,  as  also 
such  points  to  the  east  of  Sioux  City  as  will  effectually  secure 
the  settlements  in  Dakota  and  the  border  settlements  of  Iowa.  - 

It  is  essential  that  such  measures  be  taken,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, as  will  prevent  the  Minnesota  Sioux,  lately  driven  south 
of  the  Missouri  by  General  Sibley,  from  recrossing  that  river 
and  reoccupying  Minnesota,  or  in  any  large  bodies  committing 
depredations  north  and  east  of  the  Missouri. 

I  entreat  you  on  all  accounts  to  give  your  individual  atten- 
tion and  your  utmost  energy  to  the  accomplishment  of  these 
instructions.  ^     I  am,  General,  respectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant,  Jno.  Pope. 

Major  General,  Commanding. 

1   Iliid.,  pp.  490,  497. 


appendix.  543 

Hdqrs.  Dist.  of  Minnesota,  Dept.  of  the  Nortbwest, 

In  the  Field,  Camp  Rubles, 
Sauk  Centre,  September  2,  1863. 

Major:  I  have  the  honor  to  report  my  arrival  with  the 
column  at  this  post.  A  requisition  has  been  made  uj^on  me 
by  Senator  Ramsey,  commissioner  on  the  part  of  the  govern- 
ment to  negotiate  a  treaty  with  the  Pembina  and  Red  lake 
bands  of  Chipj^ewas,  for  an  escort  of  two  companies  of  cavalry 
and  one  of  infantry,  or  a  section  of  artillery,  which  I  shall,  of 
course,  furnish.  I  shall  detach  the  Tenth  regiment  from  the 
column  there,  with  orders  to  scour  the  country  along  the  line 
of  posts  to  Fort  Ridgley,  and  like  orders  to  Colonel  McPhail 
will  be  sent  him  to-morrow,  who,  with  five  companies  of  cav- 
alry detached  to  sweep  the  region  from  James  river  to  Fort 
Ridgley,  has  doubtless  reached  that  post,  to  visit  the  line  of 
posts  south  to  the  Iowa  line. 

I  have  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  Indians  will  make  any 
immediate  raid  along  the  border,  but  the  people  fear  it,  and 
the  steps  proposed  will  at  least  tend  to  reassure  them. 

I  have  as  yet  received  no  dispatch  from  General  Pope  or 
yourself  informing  me  of  the  receipt  of  my  communications 
detailing  the  movements  of  my  immediate  command  since  the 
engagements  with  the  hostile  Indians.  I  trust  to  receive  one 
very  soon. 

Major  Camp,  commanding  Fort  Abercronibie,  has  sent  a 
special  messenger  to  overtake  me  with  information  received 
from  Captain  Donaldson,  who  left  Pembina  on  the  twenty-sev- 
enth instant.  Standing  Buffalo,  a  Sisseton  chief,  who  has 
uniformly  been  opposed  to  the  war,  had  visited  St.  Joseph 
with  a  few  of  his  men.  He  reports  that  the  Indians  had  re- 
crossed  the  Missouri,  and  were  now  on  the  Missouri  Coteau, 
near  the  scene  of  our  first  battle;  that  they  intend  to  winter 
at  Devil's  lake ;  that  they  are  in  a  state  of  utter  destitution, 
and  seven  of  the  chiefs  are  desirous  to  make  peace,  and  de- 
liver up  the  murderers  as  the  price  for  obtaining  it.  He 
represents  the  Indians  to  be  very  much  frightened  at  the 
results  of  operations  against  them.  They  have,  however, 
murdered  twenty-four  miners  and  one  woman,  who  were  on 
their  way  down  the  Missouri  in  a  flatboat.  They  acknowl- 
edge a  loss  of  thirty  men  in  the  affair.  A  child  was  spared 
and  retained  as  prisoner.  Standing  Buffalo  further  states  that 
the  Indians  lost  many  drowned  in  crossing  the  Missouri  when 


544  APPENDIX, 

we  were  in  chase  of  them,  but  they  deny  that  they  lost  more 
than  thirteen  in  battle.  The  remarkable  dislike  to  acknowl- 
edge how  many  are  killed  in  action  is  characteristic  of  the 
race.  Forty-six  dead  bodies  were  found  by  my  command,  and 
doubtless  many  more  were  concealed  or  carried  off  and  a  large 
number  were  wounded,  who  were  also  transported  from  the 
field  by  their  comrades. 

'No  blow  ever  received  by  them  has  created  such  consterna- 
tion, and  I  trust  and  believe  that  if  General  Sully  takes  their 
fresh  trail  inland,  and  delivers  another  stroke  upon  them, 
they  will  be  for  peace  at  any  price. 

I  would  respectfully  suggest  that  Major  Hatch's  battalion 
be  ordered  to  garrison  a  post  at  St.  Joseph  or  Pembina.  They 
may  do  good  service  there.  I  shall  probably  leave  the  column 
in  three  or  four  dayS  and  proceed  to  St.  Paul,  where  I  will 
again  address  you.  ^     I  am,  Major,  very  respectfully. 

Your  Obedient  Servant,  H.  H.  Sibley, 

Brigadier  General,  Commanding. 
J.  F.  Meline,  Acting  Assistant  Adjutant  General,  Milwaukee. 


Hdqrs.  Dist.  of  Minnesota,  Dept.  of  the  Northwest, 
St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  September  12,  1863. 

Major  :  I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  the  portion  of  the 
expeditionary  force  remaining  undetached  encami)ed  a  few 
miles  above  Fort  Snelling  last  night,  and  will  reach  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  that  post  today,  and  will  go  into  camp 
until  further  orders.  It  consists  of  the  Sixth  and  Seventh 
regiments  of  Minnesota  Volunteers,  and  one  section  each  of 
six-pounders  and  mountain  howitzers. 

I  would  respectfully  suggest  for  the  consideration  of  Major 
General  Pope,  that  at  least  one-third  instead  of  one-fourth  of 
the  officers  and  men  who  have  participated  in  the  long  and 
tiresome  campaign  just  closed  be  permitted  to  visit  their 
homes  at  the  same  time,  so  that  opportunity  be  given  to  all  of 
them  to  do  80  before  marching  orders.  In  fact,  if  one  half  were 
granted  immediate  leave  of  absence  for  a  limited  period,  the 
whole  inatt(M-  would  b<;  much  simplified,  especially  as  the  resi- 
dence of  many  of  the  officers  and  men  is  remote  from  this  point. 

I  have  carefully  perused  General  Pope's  dispatch  of  twen- 
ty-ninth ultimo,  relative  to  the  disposition  of  the  forces  to 
renjain  in  tlie  state  during  the  approaching  winter. 

1  War  of  the  Itf.bi'llion,  Ofliciiil  Itocords,  etc.,  Series  1.,  Vol.  XXII.,  I'lirt  1.,  pp.  909,  910. 


APPENDIX.  545 

I  would  respectfully  recommend  that  at  least  two  regi- 
ments of  infantry  in  addition  to  the  mounted  men  of  Hatch's 
battalion  and  those  contemplated  to  be  re-enlisted  from  the 
Mounted  Rangers  be  retained  for  the  protection  of  the  border. 

The  Upper  Sioux  are  desirous  to  have  re- established  their 
former  amicable  relations  with  the  government,  and  I  think 
may  be  made  to  deliver  up,  as  the  price  of  peace,  those  of  the 
lower  bands  who  were  actors  in  the  tragedies  of  1862.  But 
they  are  in  constant  intercourse  with  the  Red  river  half- 
breeds,  and  would  promptly  be  informed  of  the  reduction  of 
the  force  in  this  district  through  them,  and,  if  impressed  with 
an  idea  that  the  diminution  was  so  great  as  to  prevent  the 
government  from  further  chastising  them  in  case  it  became 
necessary,  they  might  be  emboldened  to  continue  the  war, 
and  thereby  necessitate  another  exj)edition  for  their  complete 
subjugation. 

As  a  measure  of  economy,  therefore,  I  do  not  think  it 
would  be  prudent  at  the  present  crisis  to  weaken  too  much 
the  military  force  in  this  district. 

So  soon  as  the  requisite  information  can  be  obtained,  I 
will  dispatch  to  you  a  full  statement  of  the  arrangements  pro- 
posed to  be  made  for  the  defense  of  the  frontier,  for  the  con- 
sideration of  the  major  general  commanding. 

I  beg  leave  to  state  that  Fort  Abercrombie  is  already 
inclosed  with  a  stockade  sufficient  for  defensive  purposes,  and 
that  earthworks  have  been  erected  at  Fort  Ridgley  for  the 
security  of  that  post.  The  defenses  at  Fort  Ripley  are  also  in 
good  condition,  a  stockade  having  been  built  on  all  sides,  ex- 
cepting on  the  river  front,  where  Colonel  Thomas  does  not 
deem  one  necessary.  • 

I  would  respectfully  request  that  none  of  the  regiments  to 
be  ordered  South  receive  marching  orders  before  the  fifteenth 
October,  by  which  time  all  will  have  had  opportunity  to  visit 
their  homes,  and  the  season  for  apprehending  Indian  raids 
will  have  passed.  As  instructed  by  General  Pope,  I  will  in- 
dicate in  a  few  days  the  regiment  or  regiments  to  be  posted 
in  this  state.  ^     I  am  Major,  very  respectfully. 

Your  Obedient  Servant,  H.  H.  Sibley, 

Brigadier  General,  Commanding. 
J.  F.  Meline,  Acting  Assistant  Adjutant  General,  Milioaukee. 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  910,911. 


546  appendix. 

Hqdrs.  Dist.  of  Minnesota,  Dept.  of  the  ISToethwest, 
St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  September  16,  1863. 

General  :  I  have  the  honor  to  report  for  your  informa- 
tion certain  facts  which  have  lately  transpired,  that  may,  and 
probably  will,  have  a  most  important  bearing  upon  the  future 
relations  between  the  government  and  the  uj^per  bands  of 
Sioux  inhabiting  the  country  on  the  north  and  east  of  the 
Missouri  river. 

My  previous  dispatches  have  fully  advised  you  of  the  great 
concentration  of  Indian  warriors,  to  oppose  the  column  under 
my  command  in  penetrating  the  immense  prairies  between 
the  Eed  Eiver  of  the  North  and  the  Missouri  river,  and  their 
utter  rout  and  retreat  across  the  latter  stream,  with  the  loss 
of  their  subsistence,  clothing,  and  means  of  transportation, 
which  fell  into  my  hands  and  were  destroyed. 

The  state  of  destitution  in  which  they  found  themselves, 
and  their  utter  inability  to  contend  with  our  disciplined 
troops  in  the  open  field,  have  so  terrified  the  large  majority  of 
these  savages  that  they  have  expressed  a  fervent  desire  to  re- 
establish peace  with  the  government  at  any  price. 

Standing  Buffalo,  a  leading  chief  of  the  Sisseton  Sioux, 
and  who  has  been  consistent  in  his  opposition  to  the  hostilities 
initiated  by  the  Minday,  Wakomton,  and  Wakpeton  bands  in 
1862,  lately  visited  St.  Joseph,  near  the  British  line,  accom- 
panied by  several  deputies  from  the  other  upper  bands,  and 
held  a  conference  with  Father  Andre,  a  Catholic  i)riest,  who 
is  held  in  high  estimation  alike  by  the  half-breed  hunters  and 
by  the  Sioux  Indians.  So  far  as  I  can  ascertain,  these  depu- 
ties represented  all  those  powerful  bands  not  immediately 
implicated  in  the  murders  and  outrages  perpetrated  on  the 
Minnesota  frontier  during  the  past  year,  but  who  participated 
with  the  refugees  from  Wood  lake  in  the  engagements  with 
the  expeditionary  force  under  ray  command  in  the  month  of 
July  last.  In  fact,  in  the  communication  made  to  me  by 
Father  Andre,  he  distinctly  states  as  one  of  the  happy  results 
of  the  expedition,  that  "judging  from  the  anxiety  displayed 
by  these  men  (the  deputies),  the  greater  portion  of  the  Sioux 
are  desirous  of  an  opportunity  to  offer  their  submission,  and 
the  murderers,  once  abandoned  by  the  other  Indians,  can  be 
easily  reduced." 

The  combination  of  Indians  defeated  by  my  column  in  the 
late   engagements  may  be  thus   classified:    Minnesota  river 


APPENDIX.  547 

bands,  remnants,  250  warriors;  Sisseton  Sioux,  450  warriors; 
E.  Yanktonnais,  1,200  warriors;  other  straggling  bands,  in- 
cluding Teton  Sioux,  from  the  west  side  of  the  Missouri  river, 
probably  400  warriors;  making  an  aggregate  force  of  from 
2,300  to  2,500  warriors.  These  constitute  the  full  strength  of 
the  Dakota  or  Sioux  Indians  inhabiting  the  prairies  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Missouri  river,  with  few  and  insignificant 
exceptions.  The  small  number  of  those  who  succeeded  in 
effecting  their  escaj^e  after  the  decisive  conflict  of  Wood 
lake,  and  whose  crimes  against  humanity  preclude  any  hope 
of  pardon  on  the  part  of  the  government,  when  deserted  by 
the  great  bands  they  hoped  to  complicate  inextricably  in  their 
hostilities  against  the  whites  will  be  rendered  powerless  for 
evil,  as  justly  remarked  by  Father  Andre. 

That  gentleman,  in  the  communication  referred  to,  gives 
the  substance  of  the  appeal  of  Standing  Buffalo  for  peace: 

He  wished  me  to  assure  you  that  neither  he  nor  his  men  had  taken  any 
part  in  the  war  against  the  whites;  that  he  was  prepared  now,  as  he  always 
had  been,  to  submit  to  such  disposition  as  would  be  satisfactory  to  the  gov- 
ernment, and  he  regretted  very  much  that  he  could  not  meet  you  in  your 
camp  to  give  you  this  assurance. 

He  further  stated  his  desire  to  deliver  himself  up  to  the 
government  with  his  band  at  such  time  and  place  as  I  might 
designate,  only  receiving  the  assurance  that  they  would  not 
be  held  as  prisoners  or  removed  to  a  greater  distance,  refer- 
ring to  the  reservation  on  the  Missouri  to  which  the  families 
of  Sioux  captives  have  been  transferred. 

Since  the  news  of  General  Sully  having  fallen  upon  a  Sioux 
camp  and  destroyed  it  reached  me,  I  feel  sanguine  that  these 
bands  will  be  even  more  than  ever  disposed  to  submit,  and, 
with  the  view  of  opening  communication  with  them,  I  respect- 
fully ask  that  I  may  be  instructed  to  employ  Father  Andre, 
and  such  other  competent  persons  as  may  be  deemed  neces- 
sary, to  visit  the  Indians,  and  proffer  such  conditions  of  peace 
as  you  may  deem  proper  to  accord  under  the  circumstances. 

I  would  also  respectfully  suggest  that  these  conditions 
should  embrace  the  expulsion  or  delivery  of  the  murderers, 
and  the  confining  of  these  bands  to  the  limits  at  such  a  safe 
distance  from  the  settlements  in  Minnesota  as  would  effectu- 
ally dissipate  all  apprehensions  of  renewed  i^aids  on  the 
frontier. 


548  APPENDIX. 

If  properly  managed,  I  have  every  reason  to  believe  that 
the  Indian  war  will  soon  be  terminated  and  the  quiet  of  the 
border  entirely  restored.  ^    I  am,  General,  very  respectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

H.  H.  Sibley, 
Brigadier  General,  Commanding. 
Major  General  John  Pope,  Milivaukee. 


Headquarters  Department  of  the  Northwest, 
Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  August  31,  1863, 

Brigadier  General  Alfred  Sully, 

General:  In  my  letter  to  you  concerning  your  movements 
after  your  return  to  Fort  Pierre,  a  mistake  was  made  in  writ- 
ing Nebraska  instead  of  Dakota. 

It  is  my  purpose  that  you  move  from  Fort  Pierre  to  the 
Black  Hills,  and  thence  north  and  northwest  as  far  as  practi- 
cable before  the  cold  weather  begins.  These  movements,  as 
far  as  their  direction  is  concerned,  will  depend,  of  course,  upon 
the  locality  of  the  hostile  Indians,  but  it  is  your  special  mis- 
sion to  deal  finally,  if  possible,  with  the  hostile  Sioux  driven 
across  the  Missouri  river  by  General  Sibley,  and  to  prevent,  in 
all  events,  their  return  to  the  borders  of  Minnesota  in  any 
large  force.  If  you  follow  them  and  press  them  closely,  they 
will  no  doubt,  in  their  present  destitute  condition,  seek  to 
make  terms  with  you. 

Your  action  in  the  matter  must  of  necessity  be  left  to  your 
discretion,  the  circumstances  around  you  being  your  guide; 
but  one  restriction  must  be  insisted  on,  and  that  is  this,  that 
these  Indians  must  not  return  to  the  north  side  of  the  Missouri 
river  under  penalty  of  their  lives.  Whilst  circumstances 
may  render  it  judicious  that  they  be  permitted  to  remain  in 
peace  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  their  own  crimes  have 
closed  forever  Dakota  or  Minnesota  to  their  reoccupation. 
The  peace  of  the  whole  border,  and  particularly  the  security 
of  the  frontier  settlements  of  "Minnesota  and  Iowa,  depend 
upon  a  vigorous  cami^aign  on  your  part  until  the  cold  weather 
drives  you  from  the  plains. 

Your  presence  on  the  Up])('r  Missoui-i  in  time  to  have  co- 
operatcil  witli  General  Sibley  would  probably  have  ended  In- 

1  Ibid.,  |.|..  012,  l)i:j. 


1 


APPENDIX.  549 

dian  troubles,  by  destroying  or  capturing  the  whole  body  of 
Indians  which  fought  General  Sibley,  but  your  failure  to  be 
in  proper  position  at  the  proper  time,  however  unavoidable, 
renders  it  necessary  that  you  should  prosecute  with  all  vigor 
and  dispatch  the  campaign  I  have  marked  out  for  you.  ^  I  am, 
General,  respectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

Jno.  Pope, 
Major  General,  Commanding. 


Headquarters  Department  of  the  Northwest, 
Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  'October  5,  1863. 

Brigadier  General  Alfred  Sully,  Commanding  Military  Expedition, 
General:  Your  several  letters  and  reports  concerning 
your  campaign  and  the  battle  with  the  Indians  near  White 
Stone  Hill,  have  been  received  and  transmitted  to  the  head- 
quarters of  the  army.  The  results  are  entirely  satisfactory, 
and  I  doubt  not  that  the  effect  upon  the  Northwestern  Indians 
will  be,  as  you  report,  of  the  highest  consequence.  Whilst  I 
regret  that  difficulties  and  obstacles  of  a  serious  character  pre- 
vented your  co-operation  with  General  Sibley  at  the  time 
hoped,  I  bear  willing  testimony  to  the  distinguished  conduct 
of  yourself  and  your  command,  and  to  the  important  service 
you  have  rendered  to  the  government.  It  gives  me  the  great- 
est pleasure  to  perform  the  agreeable  duty  of  presenting  to 
the  government  the  names  of  the  officers  and  men  who  were 
particularly  distinguished  in  your  campaign.  To  yourself  and 
your  command,  General,  I  tender  my  thanks  and  congratula- 
tions. 2   Very  respectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

Jno.  Pope, 
Major  General,  Commanding. 

1  War  of  the  Rebellion,  Offiicial  Records,  etc..  Series  I.,  Vol.  XXII.,  Part  II.,  pp.  502,  503. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  608. 


550  APPENDIX. 

I^OTE.— NEW  ULM. 

Several  weeks  after  the  press  form,  containing  tlie  state- 
ment made  on  page  253  of  this  volume,  in  reference  to  the 
alleged  burning  of  Jesus  Christ  in  effigy,  at  New  Ulm,  in  1862, 
had  been  completed,  and  the  type  was  distributed, — a  state- 
ment based  upon  the  authority  of  Mrs.  Harriet  E.  B.  Mc- 
Conkey,  a  contemporary  writer,  and  citizen  of  Minnesota,  —a 
1-etter,  received  by  the  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley  from  Colonel  W. 
Pfaender  of  New  Ulm,  one  of  the  original  settlers  of  that  place, 
was  transmitted  to  myself,  requesting  my  attention  to  its  con- 
tents. The  letter,  b^sed  upon  information,  somehow  acquired, 
that  the  statement  of  Mrs.  McConkey  would  appear  in  the 
volume  now  published,  resents  the  story  as  unqualifiedly  false, 
and  virtually  demands  its  erasure  from  the  text.  Owing  to 
the  fact  that  this  had  now  become  impossible,  if  justifiable, 
for  the  reason  just  given,  all  that  remains  to  be  done  here,  as 
the  book  is  nearly  ready  for  the  binder's  hands,  is  to  give,  in 
the  appendix,  in  justice  to  all  parties,  the  full  statement  of 
Mrs.  McConkey,  now  deceased,  and  the  full  statement  of  Col- 
onel Pfaender,  leaving  the  older  citizens  of  Minnesota  to  judge 
of  the  merits  of  each. 

The  statement  of  Mrs.  McConkey  is  from  the  second  and 
^^ revised  edition^'  of  her  work  entitled  ^^ Dakota  War-Whoo}),'' 
St.  Paul,  1864,  pp.  81,  82,  and  is  as  follows: 

ATTACK   ON  NEW  ULM. 

Fifteen  miles  below  Eidgley,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
Minnesota  river,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cottonwood,  was  the 
neat  little  town  of  New  Ulm,  containing  about  1,500  inhabi- 
tants. Nature  had  furnished  an  inviting  site  and  been  lavish 
with  charms  on  the  surroundings.  Sad  to  say,  a  class  of  infi- 
del Germans  were  first  attracted  by  its  beauty  —  were  first  to 
build  here  their  homes.  The  original  proprietors  had  stij^u- 
lated  that  no  church  edifice  should  ever  "disgrace  its  soil,"  un- 
der penalty  of  returning  to  the  fornKU'  owners.  Thus,  with  no 
religious  restraints,  they  became  strong  in  wickedness,  defiant 
of  the  restraints  of  the  gospel,  and  resolved  that  no  minister 
should  be  allowed  to  live  among  them.  One  they  drove  from 
the  ])Ia(;c,  and  another  was  aiuioy(Ml  in  every  possible  way. 
Even  private  Christians  could  not  live  in  peace.     They  built 


APPENDIX.  551 

a  dancing  hall,  and  the  Sabbaths  were  spent  in  drinking  and 
dancing.  Wealth  had  rolled  into  their  coffers,  and  they  said, 
"Our  own  hands  have  gotten  it."  As  the  crowning  act  of  their 
ungodliness,  some  of  the  "baser  sort"  paraded  the  streets  one 
bright  Sabbath  day,  while  Heaven  was  preparing  the  "vials 
of  wrath"  at  Acton,  bearing  a  mock  figure,  purporting  to 
represent  our  blessed  Saviour,  and  labeled  with  vile  and  blas- 
phemous mottoes;  and  the  closing  scene  of  the  day  was  burn- 
ing him  in  eflSgy. 

The  statement  of  Colonel  Pfaender  is  in  the  letter  of  Col- 
onel Pfaender  to  General  H.  H.  Sibley,  under  date,  "New 
Ulm,  August  19,  1889,"  the  entire  letter  being  as  follows: 

New  Ulm,  Minnesota,  August  19,  1889, 

General  H.  H.  Sibley,  St.  Paul, 

Dear  General:  In  a  few  days  I  shall  get  some  designs 
for  the  monument,  and  as  soon  as  I  find  that  they  are  in  shape 
to  be  circulated  I  will  take  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  fully. 

The  object  of  this  letter  is  to  call  your  attention  to  a  mat- 
ter into  which,  I  hope,  you  will  carefully  inquire,  as  it  is  in 
relation  to  the  work  on  your  life,  which  will  be  published 
soon. 

You  are  probably  aware  that  an  absurd  and  totally  false 
story  of  the  burning  of  Christ  at  New  Ulm,  some  time  before 
the  Indian  outbreak,  has  appeared  in  print  in  one  of  the  pub- 
plications  on  the  massacre  of  1862,  and  has  at  sundry  times  and 
places  been  rehashed  with  the  intention  to  hurt  the  reputa- 
tion of  New  Ulm.  Now,  I  am  credibly  informed  that  this 
fabrication  is  to  find  a  place  in  the  history  of  your  life,  and  I 
should  feel  shocked  to  see  a  work  of  such  a  character  polluted 
by  such  an  unmitigated  falsehood,  which  is  a  libel  on  New 
Ulm  that  will  be  resented  vigorously  if  it  ever  makes  its  ap- 
pearance again,  since  the  authors  of  it  had  sufficient  warning 
and  chance  to  satisfy  themselves  of  its  untruth.  Being  one  of 
the  original  settlers  of  New  Ulm,  since  1856,  and  intimately 
acquainted  with  its  history  in  the  minutest  details,  I  can  safely 
challenge  anyone  to  show  the  faintest  proof  for  such  a  damag- 
ing allegation,  which  may  have  its  origin  in  the  burning  in 
effigy  of  one  of  the  former  presidents  of  the  German  Land 
Association,  residing  in  Cincinnati,  who  had  made  himself 
odious  by  some  action  hostile  to  the  progress  of  the  New  Ulm 
settlement  in  its  early  days. 


552  APPENDIX. 

Please  excuse  my  liberty  in  calling  your  attention  to  this 
matter,  but  I  thought  it  would  be  much  better  to  do  it  now 
than  to  be  obliged  later  to  set  matters  right. 

Very  Eespectfully  Yours, 

W.  Pfaender. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  statement  of  Mrs.  McConkey  that 
she  asserts  (1)  the  anti-christian  character  of  the  ''original 
proprietors"  of  New  Ulm;  (2)  their  conduct  toward  '"min- 
isters" of  the  gospel,  and  annoyance  to  "private  Christians;" 
(3)  their  desecration  of  the  "Sabbath;"  (4)  the  "burning  in 
effigy"  of  "our  Blessed  Saviour,"  by  "some  of  the  baser  sort" 
of  the  "original  proprietors;"  (5)  that  this  was  done  "one 
bright  Sabbath  day;"  and  (6)  the  whole  account  is  introduced 
by  the  statement  that  "the  original  proprietors  had  stipu- 
lated that  no  church  edifice  should  ever  'disgrace  its  soil,'" 
—  the  soil  of  New  Ulm, — "under  penalty  of  returning  to  the 
former  owners."  The  whole  statement  is  carefully  and  par- 
ticularly made. 

It  will,  also,  be  seen  from  the  letter  of  Colonel  Pfaender, 
that  he  (1)  pronounces  the  story  "  absurd  and  totally  false;  " 
(2)  that  it  has  "appeared  in  print  in  one  of  the  publications 
on  the  massacre  of  1862,  and  has,  at  sundry  times  and  places, 
been  rehashed;"  (3)  and  "  with  the  intention  to  hurt  the  repu- 
tation of  New  Ulm;"  (4)  that  it  is  a  "fabrication;"  (5)  and 
an  "unmitigated  falsehood;"  (6)  and  "a  libel  on  New  Ulm;"^ 
(7)  and  to  be  "  resented  vigorously  if  it  ever  makes  its  appear- 
ance again;"  (8)  that  "the  authors  of  it  had  sufficient  warning 
and  chance  to  satisfy  themselves  of  its  untruth; "  (9)  that  it  is  a 
"damaging  allegation;"  (10)  and,  furthermore,  Colonel  Pfaen- 
der makes  these  counter  affirmations,  upon  his  own  knowl- 
edge as  being  himself  "one  of  the  original  settlers  of  New 
Ulm  since  1856;"  (11)  and  "intimately  acquainted  with  its 
history;"  (12)  and  "in  the  minutest  details;"  and  that  the 
person  burned  in  effigy  was  not  Jesus  Christ,  but  "one  of  the 
former  presidents  of  the  German  Laud  Association,  residing  in 
Cincinnati;"  (13)  that  he  "can  safely  challenge  anyone  to  show 
the  raint<!St  proof  for  such  a  damaging  allegation;"  vl4)  that 
this  allegation  "may  have  its  origin"  in  the  burning  in  effigy 
of  the  land  president  alluded  to;  and  (15)  that  a  work  in  which 
the  alhigation  that  "Jesus  Christ"  was  burned  in  effigy  at 
New  (Jim  should  be  Ibund,  would  be  "polluted"  thereby. 


APPENDIX.  553 

Such  are  the  respective  presentations  made  by  the  author- 
ess, Mrs.  McConkey,  now  dead,  and  by  Colonel  Pfaender,  now 
living,  both  alive  at  the  time  of  the  alleged  events  referred  to. 
This  is  not  the  place  to  enter  into  a  discussion  of  the  canons 
and  principles  of  legal,  literary,  and  historical  criticism,  as  to 
the  investigation  of  an  ancient  fact,  or  one  alleged  to  have  oc- 
curred within  the  lifetime  of  a  still  existing  generation.  All 
these  are  laid  down  in  legal  and  critical  books  with  great  pre- 
cision, and  are  of  constant  application  in  our  courts  and  in- 
stitutions of  learning.  A  period  of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century  has  passed  away  since  the  first  settlement  of  New 
Ulm,  and  the  scenes  and  events  then  occurring,  and  it  is  to 
that  time  the  statements  of  Mrs.  McConkey  and  Colonel  Pfaen- 
der exclusively  relate. 

Nathaniel  West. 
St.  Paul,  September  1,  1889. 

It  is  proper  to  add,  that,  upon  the  receipt  of  Colonel  Pfaen- 
der's  letter,  transmitted  to  me  by  General  Sibley,  I  replied  in 
the  following  communication: 

St.  Paul,  Minnesota, 

522  Cedar  Street,  August  23,  1889. 
Son.  H.  S.  Sibley, 

My  Dear  General:  I  thank  you  for  sending  me  the  let- 
ter of  Colonel  Pfaender  in  reference  to  the  alleged  burning  of 
our  Lord  in  effigy  in  1862,  at  New  Ulm.  When  I  first  read 
the  account  in  Mrs.  McConkey's  book,  I  was  struck,  —  not 
with  the  statement  that  our  Lord  was  burned  in  effigy,  for 
this  has  been  done,  and  worse  than  this,  many  times,  in  his- 
tory,— but  with  the  relation  in  which  she  placed  it,  histori- 
cally, to  the  Indian  attack  on  New  Ulm.  I,  however,  inquired, 
carefully,  of  a  number  of  the  older  citizens  of  Minnesota,  who 
had  no  interest  of  any  kind  in  New  Ulm,  and  was  assured  that 
the  narrative  of  Mrs.  McConkey  —  though  gainsaid  at  the 
time — was  not  refuted,  and  well  understood  to  be  true.  When 
I  observed,  again,  that  Mrs.  McConkey's  book  is  a  second  and 
^h'evised  edition,^ ^  published  in  1864,  two  years  after  the  al- 
leged occurrence,  and,  as  I  am  informed,  after  a  public  con- 
troversy in  the  papers  as  to  the  facts  alleged,  and,  further- 
more, found  no  conclusive  literary  and  critical  re'futation  of 
her  statement,  made  by  any  of  the  many  standard  and  re- 
sponsible writers  on  the  history  of  those  times,  I  alluded  to 


554  APPENDIX. 

the  circumstance  in  a  single  sentence,  referring  to  my  author- 
ity, and  passed  on  to  speak  of  Colonel  Flandrau's  defense  of 
New  Ulm. 

I  do  not  desire  to  enter  upon  the  question  of  either  English, 
French,  German,  or  American  infidelity,  here,  or  the  charac- 
ter of  ".so»ie"  of  the  early  settlers  of  New  Ulm,  Intelligent 
and  good  men  find  enough  to  deplore,  in  many  places,  outside 
of  New  Ulm.  But,  it  is  very  proper,  and  only  right,  that  I 
should  give  Colonel  Pfaender,  somewhere,  the  benefit  of  his 
denial  of  the  truth  of  Mrs.  McConkey's  statement,  all  the  more 
as  I  have  no  reason  to  regard  it  as  unveracious,  and  especially 
as  you  have  assured  me  that  he  is  a  personal  friend  of  yours, 
of  many  years'  standing,  a  gentleman  whose  reputation  forbids 
the  supposition  that  he  could  knowingly  utter  what  he  be- 
lieved to  be  untrue.  At  the  same  time,  while  doing  justice 
to  the  living,  I  cannot,  as  a  historian,  consent  to  do  injustice 
to  the  dead.  Mrs.  McConkey's  lips  are  sealed  in  the  silence 
of  the  grave,  since  now  two  years.  I  deplore  the  fact  that, 
while  she  was  alive,  her  "second  edition"  was  not,  so  far  as 
I  learn,  convicted  as  false.  If  it  is  true  that  her  statement 
does  not  establish  the  alleged  fact,  it  is  no  less  true  that  Col- 
onel Pfaender' s  counter  statement  does  not  refute  it.  As  a  his- 
torian, governed  by  all  the  canons  of  historical  criticism,  I  can 
only  do  what  is  right,  giving  to  both  parties  the  benefit  of 
their  words, — and  for  this  I  shall  try  to  make  room  in  the  ap- 
pendix. Pardon,  dear  General,  my  prolix  communication, 
but  I  am  so  occupied  that  I  cannot  come  to  see  you.  I  hope 
to  come  soon. 

May  a  kind  Providence,  who  has  kept  you  so  long,  restore 
you  soon  to  your  accustomed  vigor  and  health.  My  best  re- 
spects to  Mrs.  Potts  and  your  family. 

Ever  Yours  Faithfully, 

Nathaniel  West. 


INDEX. 

Page. 

Abbott,  Dr.  E.  Judsoa 427 

Mrs.  Dr.  E.  J.  (Jane  R.  Steele) 427 

Catherine 427 

John 427 

Lorina 427 

Theodore 427 

Aceldama,  the  Minnesota 249 

Acton,  murders  at,  beginning  of  the  massacre  of  1862  by  Indians 252 

Address,  the  first  of  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley  to  his  constituents 134,  135 

Address,  the  second  of  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley  to  his  constituents 177,  178 

African  slavery,  the  problem  of 97,  98 

Agency,  the  Upper  Indian  (mouth  of  the  Yellow  Medicine  river) 251 

Agency,  the  Lovrer  Indian  (mouth  of  the  Redwood  river) 251 

Alison,  the  historian,  quoted 64 

Amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  Minnesota,  in  reference  to  the  "Five 
Million  Loan"  — 

Of  April  15,  1858,  to  provide  the  loan 346 

Of  November  6, 1860,  practically  annulling  the  loan,  after  the  bonds 

had  been  issued 347 

The  supreme  court  of  Minnesota  decides  this  amendment  of  1860 

to  be  unconstitutional _. 358 

American  Fur  Company  — 

John  Jacob  Astor  of  New  York,  head  of 48 

Robert  Stuart  of  Detroit,  chief  agent  of 48 

Henry  Hastings  Sibley,  clerk  and  supply  purchasing  agent  of. 48,  52 

H.  H.  Sibley  becomes  a  partner  in  the  new 52 

H.  H.  Sibley,  inspector-in-chief  of  the  trading  posts  of,  from  Lake 

Pepin  to  the  British  line 53 

H.  H.  Sibley  reaches  Mendota,  November  7,  1834,  as  head  of  the 

Northwestern 55 

American  Geographical  Society  — 

H.  H.  Sibley  elected  a  fellow  of  the 366 

American  Labor  and  Tariff 102 

American  System,  The  — 

Origin  of 101-103 

Nature  of 1(»1,  102 

Anti-democratic 1 02 

Monopolistic  and  Plutocratic  102 

Opposed  by  Mr.  Sibley  while  yet  vindicating  territorial  appropria- 
tions   193 


556  INDEX. 

Page. 
Antagonism  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  the  Constitution  of 

the  United  States,  in  1852 175 

Andr^,  Father 307 

Apple  creek 314 

Apple  river 314 

Appointed,  Henry  Hastings  Sibley — 

Justice  of  the  peace,  for  the  county  of  Mackinac,  Michigan..  52 

Justice  of  the  peace,  for  the  county  of  Clayton,  Iowa, —  a  county 

large  as  the  Empire  of  France 84 

Foreman  of  the  first  grand  jury  impaneled  west  of  the  Mississippi  139 

And  commissioned  colonel  commanding  the  Indian  expedition 254 

And  commissioned  brigadier  general,  United  States  Volunteers 

278,  297,  336 
And  commissioned  brevet  major  general.  United  States  Volunteers 

338-340 
And  commissioned  to  negotiate  treaties  with  the  Indians... 341 -343,  365 

President  board  of  regents  of  the  State  University 345 

President  board  of  commissioners  to  select  city  park 365 

President  State  Normal  School  Board 365 

President  board  of  commissioners  to  settle  Indian  claims 367 

Chairman  Committee  of  Relief,  during  the  locust  plague 367 

President  bi-centennial  anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  the  Falls  of 

St.  Anthony 368 

Doctor  of  Laws,  LL.D.,  by  the  trustees  of  Princeton  College 376 

Appropriations  of  Congress  to  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  during  Hon. 

H.  H.  Sibley's  representation  of  the  same 

128,   145,  146,  180,  181,  191-196,  202,  208 

Aristotle,  quoted 361,  362 

Arnold,  the  historian,  quoted 113 

Atchinson,  commissary  and  ordnance 304 

Auge,  James 372 

Austin,  Governor 353 

Averill,  Lieutenant  Colonel,  Sixth  regiment 310,  311,  312,  314 

Bailey,  Alexis 54-56,  59,  69 

Bailey,  Captain,  Sixth  regiment.  279 

Baiguer,  W 372 

Baker,  Colonel,  Tenth  regiment,  in  front  at  battle  of  Stony  Lake 

309,  311,  312 
Balcombe,   Ste.  A.  D.,  president  Republican  branch  of  convention  to 

form  the  State  Con.stitution 224 

I'>ankers,  New  York  City,  their  tribute  to  H.  H.  Sibley 355 

Banquet  — 

First  (luarter  centennial  of  the  ))attle  of  Birch  Coolie 372 

(Jrand  annual  of  the  Loyal  Legion 373 

Inaugural  to  (;!overnor  lliil)l)anl 368 

Semi-Centennary  t^)  Henry  Hastings  Sibley 368 


INDEX.  557 

Page. 

Barbarities  of  the  red  man 249 

Barbarities  of  the  white  man 293-296 

Battles  — 

Of  Birch  Coolie 259-261 

Of  Wood  Lake 271-273 

Of  Big  Mound , T 308-310 

Of  Dead  Buffalo  Lake 310-311 

Of  Stony  Lake.. 311-313 

Importance  of  these 318-321 

Bear,  Mrs.  Jonathan  Sibley  and  the 28 

Beaver,  Lieutenant  F.  H 310,  314,  315 

Beck,  E.  S 372 

Beer-barrel  whipped  for  working  on  Sunday 28 

Beltrami,  Giacomo  Costantine,  the  Itjilian  Patriot  and  Explorer — 

General  Sibley's  letter  in  reference  to 399-401 

Berkeley's  ode  to  America •. 29 

Big  Mound,  battle  of. 308-310 

Terrific  thunder-storm  during 309 

The  lightning  loosens  the  grasp  of  Colonel  McPhail's  hand  on  his 

sword,  at  the 309 

Bills  introduced,  and  others  discussed,  by  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley,  and 
passed,  or  acted  on,  by  Congress,  during  Mr.  Sibley's  time  in  that 
body,  viz.: 

Organizing  the  Territory  of  Minnesota 121-130 

For  road  from  St.  Louis  river,  Superior,  to  Point  Douglas  and  Still- 
water  131,  178,  205 

For  benefit  of  Minnesota 143,  144 

To  extend  United  States  laws  over  Indians 143 

To  establish  post  roads  in  Minnesota  Territory 143 

To  extend  right  of  pre-emption  to  settlers  on  unsurveyed  lauds 

143,  163-172 
To  construct  and  complete  roads  in  Minnesota  Territory...  143,  178,  191 
For  punishment  of  crimes  by  the  Indians,  and  promotion  of  Indian 

civilization 144,  158 

For  appropriations  for  the  Territory  of  Minnesota 145 

For  inclusion  of  Indians  in  the  seventh  United  States  census..l50, 151-156 

For  authorizing  legislature  to  lease  the  school  lands 159,  160,  163 

To  amend  act  establishing  the  Territory  of  Minnesota 159 

For  relief  of  settlers,  and  other  purposes 159 

For  reduction  of  military  reserve  of  Fort  Snelling 160-163 

#  For  appropriation  for  survey  of  the  public  lands 178 

For  a  homestead  for  settlers 184 

For  indigent  insane 188-202 

For  Indian  appropriations 196 

For  railroad  from  the  Gulf  to  the  British  line 203-205 

For  land  grant  for  school  purposes 122 

For  removal  of  obstructions  to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi 
and  Minnesota  rivers 160,  178-201 


558  INDEX. 

Page. 
Bills  introduced,  etc. —  Continued. 

For  new  land  district  and  offices 178 

To  authorize  legislature  to  control  all  appropriations  for  territorial 

government 179 

For  public  buildings  in  the  territory 183 

For  support  of  schools  in  fractional  townships 180 

General  summing  up,  as  to 180,  181 

Birch  Coolie  — 

Encampment  of  Major  Brown  at 259 

Indian  attack  at 259,  260 

Midnight  march  of  Colonel  Sibley  to 260 

Battle  of 260,  261 

Importance  of  battle  of 261,  281 

Black  Friday,  execution , 291 

Blakeley  Russell 368 

Bonds — 

The  Minnesota  state  railroad,  authorized  by  the  legislature  and  the 

people 230,  231 

Opposed  by  Governor  H.  H.  Sibley  230 

Issued  only  under  mandamus  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  state 234 

Assailed  and  discredited  by  the  Republican  press 237 

Repudiated  by  the  legislature  and  the  state 237 

Not  any  party  measure,  but  the  act  of  the  people,  under  Republi- 
can rule 238,  239 

Defense  of  repudiation  of. 348 

Resistance  to  repudiation  of 349 

Governor  Marshall's  expedient  for  the  liquidation  of. 351 

Ex-Governor  Sibley's  anathemas  against  repudiation 351 

Legal  opinions  as  to  validity  of 353 

Governor  Davis  insists  on  the  liquidation  of. 356 

The  banks  and  business  men  of  New  York  City  denounce  repudiation.  355 

Governor  Pillsbury  implores  the  legislature  to  be  honest 357 

The  United  States  Circuit  Court  affirms  the  validity  of  the 358 

The  supreme  court  of  the  United  States  affirms  the  validity  of  the..  358 
The  supreme  court  of  the  State  of  Minnesota  holds  the  state  liable 

for  the,  and  checks  the  tricks  of  the  legislature 358 

The  Democratic  party  denounces  repudiation 359 

The  Republican  party  evades  the  payment  of  the,  for  more  than 

twenty  years 360 

Final  settlement  of  the 361 

Remarks  on  the  moral  question  involved  in  the 361-^64 

Boyden,  Hon.  Mr.,  North  Carolina,  resists  establishment  of  Minnesota 

Territory 109 

Replied  to  by  Mr.  Sibley 110,  111,  126 

Again  rejjlied  to 149 

Hride,  the  tall  and  useful 28,  29 

British  Government  — 

Attitude  of  toward  the  United  States,  during  the  Rebellion  of  the 

-    South,  and  the  Sioux  War 318,  319 


INDEX.  559 

Page. 
Brown,  Major  Joseph  R. — 

At  the  stockade,  Lake  Traverse 60 

Justice  of  the  peace ". 84 

Encamps  at  Birch  Coolie 259 

Taps  the  drum  at  the  execution  of  the  Indians 290,  291 

Commander  of  Indian  scouts 304 

At  battle  of  Stony  Lake 311 

Tribute  to,  by  General  Sibley 405,  406 

Brunelle,  P 372 

Buffalo  — 

Mr.  Sibley's  encounter  with  a 80,  81 

Buffiilo  hunting 80,  81 

Bull,  Chaplain 323 

Burial  Party,  The  — 

Sent  to  inter  the  massacred 259 

Disaster  to 260 

Midnight  march  to  rescue 260 

Scene  at  the  camp  of  the 261 

Burt,  Capfain 290 

Burnt  Boat  island 314 

Business  Men  of  New  York  — 

Their  thanks  to  H.  H.  Sibley 355 

Business  Men  of  St.  Paul  — 

Their  appeal  to  General  Sibley 299 

General  Sibley's  reply  to  the 299,  300 

c. 

Cadle,  Rev.  H.,  classical  teacher  of  H.  H.  Sibley 47 

Cake,  serious  consequences  of  teaching  how  to  make 29,  30 

"  Camera  Stellata  " — "  Star  Chamber."     John  Sibley,  clerk  of,  during 

life '. :..'...     13 

Camps,  Military,  of  the  First  Expedition  — 

Camp  at  St.  Peter 254-257 

Camp  at  Fort  Ridgley 258 

Camp  near  Birch  Coolie 259 

Camp  at  Moose  lake 271,  273 

Camp  Release 273,  275,  277,  279 

Camp  of  the  Indians  invaded 275 

Camp  Sibley 279 

Camp  Lincoln 280 

Camps,  Military,  of  the  Second  Expedition  — 

Camp  Pope 3t)3,  304 

Camp  Douglas 307 

Camp  Atchison 307,  -^15 

Camp  near  Big  Mound 311 

Canip  Kennedy  (a  dream) 324 

Camp  Ambler  (sorrow) 325 


560  INDEX. 

Page. 
Camps,  Military  —  Continued. 

Camp  Slaughter 313 

Camp  Braden,  near  the  Apple  river  and  near  the  Missouri  river.314,  315 
Camp  Braden,  order  for  the  homeward  return  issued  by  General 

Sibley 317 

Personal  bereavement  in 321-325 

Sabbath  keeping  in 322,  323 

Chaplains  preaching  in 322,  323 

Camp  Release  — 

Scenes  in 275,  276 

Should  be  consecrated  as  a  sacred  place  by  the  state 277 

Captives  released  by  General  Sibley 275-277 

"  Caput  Rotundum  "  18 

Card,  fac-simile  of,  at  semi-centennial  to  General  Sibley 369 

Castle,  Captain  Henry,  poem  in  honor  of  General  Sibley 374 

Cat  punished  for  catching  a  mouse  during  prayer-time..... 28 

Catlin,  Governor  John,  ex-officio,  calls  the  people  of  the  residuum  of 

Wisconsin  Territory  to  meet  and  send  delegate  to  Congress 105 

Catlin,  George,  his  work  on  the  Indians ' 91 

Cavalry  force,  lack  of  in  Colonel  Sibley's  first  Indian  campaign 256 

261,  268,  272,  274 
Chamberlain,  Selah  — 

Final  settlement  of  the  State  of  Minnesota  with,  and  adjustment  of 

state  railroad  bonds 361 

Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  the  name 17 

Called  "  Mishawum  "  by  the  Indians 17 

First  settlers  in 16 

Founded  by  Endicott,  Higginson,  et  al 16 

John  Sibley  of 18,  19 

Estate  of  John  Sibley  of. .; 18 

Chase,  Cai)tain,  Ninth  regiment 311 

Chase,  Hon.  M. — 

Acting  governor,  Territory  of  Minnesota 224 

Chicago  in  1829,  H.  H.  Sibley's  trip  to 49 

Chippewas,  or  Ojibwas 67,  256,  259,  281 

Chittenden,  Captain,  poem  of %.  250 

Church  edifice  erected  by  Mr.  Sibley 90 

Church  and  state,  each  has  a  divine  foundation 361 

Church,  First  Presbyterian,  in  Minnesota 72 

Circular  of  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley  to  the  members  of  the  United  States 

Hou.se  of  Representatives T..  126 

Civilization,  two  antagonizing  forms  of 175 

The  nuclei  of  the 244 

Mighty  forces  of 240,  242 

The  crimes  of 293-296 

Problem  of  Indian,  not  solved  by  the  sword 327 

Clarke,  Hyde,  Es(|.,  Louilon,  iMigland .' 9 

Letters  of,  comerning  ancestry  of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley 9,  10 


INDEX.  561 

Page. 
Clergy,  The  — 

Appeal  to,  by  General  Sibley,  in  behalf  of  public  morals  and  de- 
cency  352,  353 

Colonial  record  of  the  Sibleys 32 

Commission  of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  — 

As  colonel 254 

As  brigadier  general 335-337 

As  major  general,  United  States  Volunteers 338,  340 

Commission,  military,  organized  to  try  the  Indian  criminals 279 

Number  arraigned,  tried,  found  guilty,  and  condemned  by 280 

Commissioner,  United  States,  H.  H.  Sibley,  to  negotiate  treaties  with 
the  Indians.     (See  Treaties.) 

Comets,  Donati's  of  1858,  Encke's  of  1860  — 

Terror  of,  preceding  our  war 241 

Compromise  measures  of  1850 175 

Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley,  no  voice  in 177 

Announced  as  a  finality 200 

Effect  of  the 241 

Confederacy,  the  Southern 282 

Its  relation  to  the  Indians 318,  319 

Congress  of  the  United  States  — 

Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley  a  member  in  the  Thirtieth  Congress,  second  ses- 
sion, December  3,  1848,  to  March  3,  1849 103-135 

Thirty-first  Congress,  first  session,  December  3,  1849,  to  September 

30,  1850;  second  session,  December  2,  1850,  to  March  3,  1851 

137-158-173 
Thirty-second  Congress,  first  session,  December  1,  1851,  to  August 

31,  1852;  second  session,  December  6,  1852,  to  March  3, 1853 

174-200-209 
Under  the  administrations  of  President  James  K.  Polk,  Zachary 
Taylor,  and  Millard  Filmore;  the  speakers  of  the  house  being 
Honorables  E.  C.  Winthrop,  Howell  Cobb,  and  Lynn  Boyd....l03-299 

Struggle  to  elect  a  speaker  in  1849 139-141 

Fraud  upon  the  ofiicial  proceedings  of,  in  reference  to  the  Minne- 
sota land  bill 215 

Eight  of,  to  disapprove  territorial  legislation 222 

Memorial  to,  exposing  corruption  and  fraud  in  Minnesota 218,  219 

Opinion  legal,  as  to  power  of,  to  repeal  a  charter 220 

Political  complexion  of,  during  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley's  representation 

in  1848-1849 103 

Political  complexion  of,  during  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley's  representation 

in  1850-1851 139 

Political  complexion  of,  during  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley's  representation 

in  1852-1853 175,  176 

Congressional  Career  of  Mr.  Sibley  — 

One  perpetual  struggle  in  behalf  of  Minnesota 207 

Conolly,  Adjutant  A.  P 372 

36 


562  INDEX. 

Page. 
Constitution  of  the  State  of  Minnesota  — 

Is  the  report  of  a  committee 226 

Is  the  result  of  a  compromise 226,  227 

Is  the  substantial  instrument  formulated  by  the  Democratic  branch 

of  the  convention.. 226 

Conventicle,  Thomas  and  William  Sibley  sent  to  jail  for  attending  a     14 

Convention,  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  1860  — 

H.  H.  Sibley  a  delegate  to  the '. 247 

H.  H.  Sibley,  member  of  Committee  on  Credentials 245 

H.  H.  Sibley  votes  for  Douglas 245 

Convention  to  form  a  constitution  for  the  State  of  Minnesota 223 

Struggle  to  get  control  of. 223 

Each  party  forms  a  separate 224 

Country,  state  of  in  1857-1859 223 

State  of  in  1860 241-243 

Correspondence  with  Little  Crow 262-265 

Cretin,  Right  Reverend  M 64 

Crooks,  Colonel  Ramsey,  president  of  the  American  Fur  Company 53 

Crooks,  Colonel  William,  of  St.  Paul 53 

Colonel,  Sixth  regiment 257,  279,  291,  304,  309,  311,  312,  314 

Curtis,  Major  General,  tribute  to  General  Sibley 321,  337 

Cut-Nose,  executed 220 

D. 

Dakotas,  import  of  the  term 65 

Danger,  from  money-kings,  to  anew  territory 216,  217 

Davis,  Governor  C.  K. — 

Appeal  to  the  state  legislature  to  be  just,  and  honor  its  own  ob- 
ligations   356 

One  of  several  names  to  be  remembered 362 

Appoints  H.  H.  Sibley  chairman  of  Committee  of  Relief,  during 
the  locust  plague 366 

Tribute  of,  to  General  Sibley,  Preface  IV.  and 369 

Davy,  Captain,  First  regiment,  cavalry 311 

Death  of  Mrs.  Henry  Hastings  Sibley 86,  88,  426 

Dead  Buffalo  Lake,  battle  of 310,  311 

Detroit,  Michigan 43,  47 

Gay  entrance  into,  by  H.  H.  Sibley  in  his  painted  canoe 51 

Deer-hunting,  Mr.  Sibley's  description  of 73-78 

Democratic  party,  organized  in  Minnesota  in  1850 223 

Attitude  t<^)ward  tlie  state  railroad  bonds 359,  360 

Death  of  the  Southern 246 

Devil,  the,  in  Salem,  Massachusetts 29 

Devil's   lake 66,  303,307,316 

Diary  of  General  Sibley,  during  his  Second  Expedition  against  the 
Sioux  — 

Extracts  from  the 304,  307,  309,  310,  315,  322-325,  333 


INDEX.  563 

Page. 
Difficulties  to  be  overcome  in  the  pursuit  of  Little  Crow,  and  his  war- 
riors  256,  257,  265-270 

Dillon,  Judge,  United  States  Circuit  Court,  decision  of,  as  to  the  state 

railroad  bonds 358 

Diploma,    fac-simile  of,   conferriu<>;  dejjree  of  "Doctor   of   Laws"    on 

Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley 377 

Domesday  Book  (liber  domus  Dei) 13 

Dooley,  Major  (scouts) 304 

Douglas,  Hon.  Stephen  A. — 

Introduces  a  bill  to  establish  Minnesota  Territory 104,  121 

Prefers  Mendota  as  the  capital  of  the  territory  and  state 121,  122 

Powerful  aid  of,  in  securing  the  passage  of  the  bill  organizing  Min- 
nesota Territory 129 

The  friend  of  Minnesota 134 

Leader  of  the  Northern  Democracy  in  1860 243 

The  Democratic  Northwest  a  unit  for  in  1860  243 

Favorite  of  the  Democracy  of  Minnesota 246 

Nominated  for  the  presidency  of  the  United  States  in  1860 246 

Dousman,  Colonel  H.  L.,  of  the  firm  of  Dousman,  Kolette  &  Sibley 53 

Tribute  to,  by  General  Sibley 404,  405 

Dream  of  General  Sibley,  in  his  tent 324 

Ducks,  the  Indian,  and  Sibley 57 

Duley,  M.,  of  Lake  Shetek,  at  the  execution  of  the  Indians 291 

E. 

Early  settlers  in  Minnesota,  names  of 69 

East,  Magi  from  the,  came  to  see  young  Minnesota 214 

Edgerton,  Captain,  Sixth  regiment 309 

Egan,  Captain  J.  J.,  Sixth  regiment,  tribute  to  Colonel  Sibley '....  372 

Elected,  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  — 

Delegate  to  Congress  from  Territory  of  Wisconsin 105 

Delegate  to  Congress  from  Territory  of  Minnesota 138 

Re-elected  delegate  to  Congress  from  Territory  of  Minnesota 175 

Member  of  territorial  legislature 212 

President  Democratic  branch  of  convention  to  form  state  constitu- 
tion    224 

First  governor  of  the  State  of  Minnesota 228 

Delegate  to  Charleston  Convention,  South  Carolina 244 

President  St.  Paul  City  Bank 343 

President  Minnesota  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company 343 

President  Chamber  of  Commerce 343 

Member  of  state  legislature 354 

President  of  State  Democratic  Convention 359 

Director  First  National  Bank 365 

Fellow  of  the  American  Geographical  Society 366 

President  Oakland  Cemetery  Association 367 

President  thirteenth  anniversary  of  State  Historical  Society 367 


564  INDEX. 

Page. 
Elected,  Henry  Hastings  Sibley — Continued. 

President  of  inaugural  banquet  to  Governor  Hubbard 368 

President  Minnesota  Club 370 

Commander  Loyal  Legion 373 

Member  Cliosophic  Society,  Princeton  College 375 

Elk-hunting,  Mr.  Sibley's 80 

Eloquent  peroration  of  Mr.  Sibley  on  the  Indian  question 155,  156 

As  delegate  to  Congress  from  Minnesota 137,  138,  175 

As  member  of  the  territorial  legislature 211,  212,  216 

As  first  governor  of  the  state 228 

As  member  of  the  state  legislature 384 

Endicott,  John,  Governor 16 

Endicott's  advance  fleet 16 

Number  of  immigrants  in 16 

Laws  at  Salem,  Massachusetts 16 

Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  founded  by  a  portion  of  the  company 
of. 17 

"  E  Pluribus  Unum  "— 

Motto  for  the  escutcheon  of  the  United  States 243 

Eeported  by  Jefferson,  Adams,  and  Franklin,  July  4,  1776 243 

A  federal  motto 243 

Same  import  as  the  national  flag 243 

Ethics  — 

The  Machiavellian  and  Darwinian 296 

The  Rob  lioy 352 

The  Herbert  Spencer 362 

The  Bentham-Paley 362 

The  Roman  state 322 

Expediency,  false  doctrine  of 363 

Illustrations  of 322,  352,  363 

Expeditions,  Military  — 

First,  of  Colonel  Sibley,  against  the  Sioux  Indians 254-284 

First,  results  of  the 283 

Second,  of  General  Sibley  against  the  Sioux  Indians 302-327 

Second,  results  of  the 316 

Combined  results  of  both 326 

Excursion,  great  railroad,  to  St.  Paul,  June,  1854 213,  214 

Execution  of  the  Sioux  Indians,  December  26,  1862 

Divergent  opinion  as  to  the 284 

Protests  against  the 284 

Counter  protests,  in  favor  of 285 

Critical  situation  at  the  time  of  the 285 

Oflicial  dispatches  as  to  the 285-287 

Order  of  President  Lincoln  in  reference  to  the 287 

Order  of  General  Sibley,  as  to  the 288 

Action  of  Colonel  Miller  as  to  the 289 

List  of  names  of  the  executed 288 

Scenes  attending  the 289,  290 

Remarks  upon  the 292-296 


INDEX.  565 

Page. 

Expedition,  hunting,  of  H.  H.  Sibley,  in  1840 73 

In  1841 74-77 

Mode  of  inaugurating  a 74 

Total  gamesecured  in  the 78 

Courage  of  H.  H.  Sibley,  in  face  of  fire  and  powder  kegs 79 

Europe,  condition  of,  in  1848-1849,  when  H.  H.  Sibley  entered  on  his 

political  career 95 

Condition  of,  in  1860,  at  the  close  of  Governor  Sibley's  adminis- 
tration      240 

Evans,  Hon.  Mr.,  of  Maryland,  raises  a  "point  of  order "  as  to  the 

establishment  of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota 128 

Family,  and  family  connections  of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley 426-428 

Faribault,  the  two , 69,  73,  76,  79 

Featherstonhaugh,  G.  W 91 

Forbes,  W.  H 73,  83 

Flag,  the  national 243 

Origin  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes.     {See  ' '  E  Pluribtis  Unum  " ) 243 

Flandrau,  Hon.  Charles  E. — 

Dissenting  opinion  of,  from  the  other  members  of  the  supreme  court, 

in  regard  to  the  issuance  of  the  state  railroad  bonds 'i'34,  236 

Speeds  to  the  relief  of  New  Ulm 253 

Reinforcements  sent  to 254 

Successful  defense  of  New  Ulm  by 253 

Successful  retreat  by,  from  New  Ulm 254,  255 

Commissioned  as  colonel,  commanding  the  southwestern  frontier  of 

Minnesota 253 

Picture  of  the  times  in  Minnesota,  in  1857 229,  230 

Chairman  of  Committee  on  Resolutions  in  Democratic  convention 

of  1881  358 

Platform  reported  by,  in  1881 359 

One  of  several  names  to  be  remembered 363 

View  of,  in  reference  to  the  five  million  loan 348 

Tribute  by,  to  H.  H.  Sibley 122 

Flandrau,  Lieutenant.     {See  Staff.) 

Fleet,  the  Winthrop 2,  3,  14-16 

TheEndicott 14-16 

John  Sibley  of  Salem,  said  to  have  come  over  in  the  14,  19 

Forbes,  W.  H.,  Captain 73,  83 

Foreman,  H.  H.  Sibley  — 

Of  the  first  grand  jury  impaneled  west  of  the  Mississippi  river 139 

Fort  Ridgley  — 

Attacked  by  the  Indians 253 

Bravely  defends  itself  till  reinforcements  arrive 255 

McPhail's  advance  reaches 258 

Colonel  Sibley  in  force,  arrives  at 258 


566  INDEX. 

Page. 
Fort  Eidgley —  Continued. 

Camp  formed  at 258 

The  base  of  further  operations 258 

Burying  party  sent  out  from 259 

Alarm  and  excitement  in 259 

McPhail  dispatched  from,  to  the  relief  of  the  burial  party 259 

Colonel  Sibley,  in  force,  marches  from,  to  the  relief  of  both 260 

Foote,  Senator,  letter  of  H.  H.  Sibley  to 108 

Fraud,  in  relation  to  the  Minnesota  land  bill 215 

The  country  agitated  by  discovery  of,  upon  the  records  of  Con- 
gress   216 

Exposure  of,  by  memorial  to  Congress 218,  219 

Corruption  and,  in  the  state  legislature 218,  219 

Investigated  by  Congress 216 

Frazer,  ' '  Jack ' '  — 

A  renowned  half-breed 73 

Guide  of  Sibley  and  Fremont 74 

History  of,  by  "  Walker-in-the-Pines, "  alias  H.  H.  Sibley 396 

Fremont,  Lieutenant  J.  C. ,  the  ' '  Pathfinder' '  — 

Goes  hunting  with  H.  H.  Sibley 73 

Disgusted  with  the  toils  of  savage  life,  returns  to  Prairie  du  Chien..    74 

Mr.  Sibley's  mansion  at  Mendota  the  temporary  home  of 91 

Freeman,  Lieutenant 308 

Frere,  Antoine 279 

Fur  and  anti-fur  companies 212 


a. 


Galbraitb,  Major  T.  J.,  Renville  Rangers 252,  253,  263,  271 

Gall,  Sioux  Indian  Chief — 

Signs,  regretfully,  the  treaty  of  1889 329 

Game,  quantity  taken,  in  one  expedition,  by  H.  H.  Sibley  and  the  In- 
dian hunters , 78 

Gander-shot,  splendid,  by  H.  H.  Sibley 57 

Gardner,  Sergeant 372 

Garfield,  President  United  States  of  America — 

Resolution  as  to  the  assassination  of 359,  360 

Gear,  Rev.  Ezekiel,  chaplain 63 

Giddings,  Hon.  M.  of  Ohio  — 

Resists  the  establishment  of  Minnesota  Territory 127 

Views  of,  as  to  the  "Higher  Law" 171 

Compliment  to  Mr.  Sibley 199 

Gitche  Manitod,  the 68 

Globe,  the  daily,  of  St.  Paul,  tribute  to  General  Sibley 379,  380 

Grant,  president  United  States,  eulogy  upon,  by  General  Sibley 370,  373 

Grant,  Captain  W.  H.,  Sixth  regiment 279 

Grant,  Colonel  II.  P.,  Sixth  regiment 372 


INDEX.  567 

Page. 
Grass,  John,  Sioux  Indian  chief,  signs  the  treaty  of  1889,  after  long  re- 
sistance   329 

Great  events  in  1848,  when  Mr.  Sibley  entered  on  his  congressional 

career 94-97 

Great  movements,  born  of  small  beginnings 113 

Goodrich,  A.,  chief  justice  of  Minnesota 133-139 

Tribute  by,  to  H.  H.Sibley 107,  108 

Gorman,  Governor  of  Minnesota  — 

Signs  the  bill  incorporating  the  Minnesota  &  Northv^estern  Eail- 

road  Company 213 

Protests  against  its  charter 217 

Gorman,  Lieutenant,  Renville  Rangers 271 

Gott,  Hon.  Mr.,  New  York 3,  6,  271,  317 

Opposed  to  the  establishment  of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota 127 

Guests,  distinguished,  of  H.  H.  Sibley,  at  Mendota 91 

H. 

"Hal  a  Dakotah,"  nom  de  plume  of  H.  H.  Sibley 79,  283,  304 

Haralsen,  Hon.  Mr. — 

Prays  for  "more  light"  in  order  to  see  whether  Minnesota  Terri- 
tory should  be  established 127 

Harastty,  Count 92 

"Hart,  W 372 

Hastings  William,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  legal  instructor  of  Henry  Hastings 

Sibley's  father 33 

Hastings,  city  of,  in  Minnesota,  called  after  Henry  Hastings  Sibley 425 

Heard,  Lieutenant  I.  V.  D 279 

"Hetuck,"  Indian  sobriquet  of  Colonel  Sproat 40 

Hawthorne,  Lieutenant 304 

Hendricks,  Captain 271 

Hiawatha,  the,  of  Longfellow 88,  430 

Legend  of. 430 

Higginson,  Rev.  Mr 14,  16 

With  others  founds  Charlestown,  Massachusetts 16 

Higher  Law — 

The  Minnesota  pioneers 168 

H.  H.  Sibley's  defense  of 168-170 

Natural  right  is 170 

Public  opinion  is 171 

Divine  example  is 170 

Asserted  by  all  parties 171 

As  good  for  the  white  pioneer  as  for  the  black  slave 171 

Hon.  J.  R.  Giddings,  and 171 

Squatter  sovereignty  is 172 

Eight  of  pre-emption  on  unsurveyed  lands  is 172 

Moral  principles  are 178 

Hole-in-the-Day 281 


568  INDEX. 

Paob. 
Home  of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley — 

Description  of,  in  Mendota 418-420 

Description  of,  in  St.  Paul 420-425 

Honors  bestowed  upon  Henry  Hastings  Sibley  — 

52,  64,  83,  84,  105,  138,  175,  211,  212,  221,  228,  244,  254,  278,  297,  301, 
303,  336,  3^9,  341,  343,  345,  354,  355,  359,  365,  366,  367,  368,  369,  370, 
372,  373,  375,  378. 

Hopkins,  Stephen  (signer  of  Declaration) 35 

Sarah,  sister  of 35 

Horace,  quoted 69 

Hotel,  the  Sibley 59 

Hubbard,  Governor 368 

Huggins,  Mr 63 

Hunting  — 

The  buffalo ;..,.80,  81 

The  elk 80 

The  deer 73-78 

Mode  of  inaugurating  a,  expedition 73,  74-76 

Mode  of 77 

I. 

Hianktowana  (One  End  of  the  Village) 66 

Ihanktowans  (Other  End  of  the  Village) 66 

Immigration  into  the  Northwest ! 97 

Independence,  American,  first  germ  of,  where  found 14 

Indians  — 

Their  universal  kindness  to  Mr.  Sibley 60 

Number,  and  distribution  of  the  Sioux 65,  66 

Primitive  virtues  of  the 67,  68 

The  question  as  to  the,  when  Mr.  Sibley  entered  public  life 99 

Policy  of  the  government  toward  the 99,  100 

Policy  of  extermination  of  the 152,  196,  200,  284;  note,  293,  328 

Policy  of  civilization  of  the 151-156,  173,  343 

The  remedy  proposed  for  the 154-156 

Treachery  of  the  United  States  Government  to  the 

151,  154,  251,  293,  294 

Bloody  revenge  of  the 248,  249 

Execution  of  the 284 

Abrogation  of  treaties  with  the 292 

Removal  of  the,  from  the  .state 292 

Opening,  again,  of  the  reservation  of  the  Sioux,  to  white  settlers, 

1889 note,  329 

Indian  wars 153,  283 

Indian  names 270,  272,  273,  275,  283,  287,  289,  290 

Iiulian  costume  of  H.  H.  Sibley 78 

Indian  problem,  the 328 

Ireland,  Bishop 368 


INDEX.  569 

J- 

Paqb. 

Johnson,  President  Andrew 338 

Johnson,  Major  General  R.  W  427 

Mrs.  R.  W.  (Rachel  Steele) 427 

Lieutenant  Alfred  B.,  United  States  Army 427 

Richard  W.,  medical  department  United  States  Army 427 

Henry  Sibley 427 

Military  record  of. note,  427 

Mustered  out  of  volunteer  service 340 

Retired  army  officer note,  427 

Attitude  toward  the  state  railroad  bonds 360 

Nominated  for  governor 360 

Speechof,  at  his  nomination 360 

At  the  bi-centennial 368 

Remarks  by,  on  the  political  situation  of  Minnesota 360 

One  of  names  to  be  remembered 363 

Mrs.  A.  B.  (Kitty  Smyth) 427 

Kitty  Smyth 427 

Rachel  Louise 427 

Jones,  Captain,  artillery 304 

Justice  of  the  Peace  — 

H.  H.  Sibley  a,  at  Mackinac 52 

H.  H.  Sibley  a,  at  Mendota 83,  84 

Justice,  easy  mode  of  administering  in  Minnesota 84 

K. 

Kapossia,  Little  Crow's  village 67 

Kaufman,  Hon.  Mr.,  of  Texas,  opposes  the  establishment  of  the  Terri- 
tory of  Minnesota 128 

Kennedy,  Camp  (Sibley's  dream) 324 

Kimball,  assistant  quartermaster 304 

Kinzie,  John 49 

Kittson,  Norman  W.,  Commodore 69,  368 

Kosciusko,  the  Hungarian  Patriot  — 

The  personal  friend  of  H.  H.  Sibley's  maternal  grandfather 43 

Paints  the  portrait  of  Colonel  Ebenezer  Sproat 43 

Labathe,  humorous  story  about  411,  412 

Laframboise,  Louis 69 

Lake  Sibley .'. 308 

Lake  Augusta 425 

Lake,  Wood 271-273 

Lampson,  Mr.  Chauncey,  kills  Little  Crow 332 

Land  Grants  of  500,000,  then  of  852,480,  and  again,  of  4,500,000,  acres 
contained  in  the  Minnesota  land  bills  passed  by  Congress,  in  1841, 
1854,  and  1857 212,  216,  223,  351 


570  INDEX. 

Page. 

La  Flesh,  Bishop 368 

Legislation  — 

Moral  principles  more  authoritative  than  all  opposing 175,  176 

Legislature  of  Minnesota  — 

Joint  resolution  in  regard  to  the  military  worth  of  General  Sibley..  298 
Loans  the  credit  of  the  state,  in  a  time  of  panic,  to  the  extent  of 
$5,000,000,  to   impecunious   railroad   companies,  amending   the 

Constitution  in  order  to  do  this 345-347 

Repudiates  its  obligations,  and  those  of  the  state,  under  the  plea 

of  necessity,  state  sovereignty,  and  the  will  of  the  people 346-348 

After  many  years,  makes  a  final  settlement,  by  compromise  with 
the  bondholders,  the  sentiment  of  the  whole  country  compelling 

the  same 349-361 

Corruption  of  the  territorial 216-222 

Folly  of  the  territorial 231 

Corruption  of  the  state 347-353,  355-358 

Letters  of  Colonel  Sibley  to  his  wife,  as  to  the  military  situation.  ...266,  267 
Levin,  Hon.  Mr.,  of  Pennsylvania  opposed  to  the  establishment  of  the 

Territory  of  Minnesota 126 

Liberty  — 

Germ  of  American,  where  found 14 

Kindling  her  torch  among  the  nations 14 

Genius  of. 240-243 

Spirit  of 242 

Convulsing  Europe 95,  96 

Convulsing  the  United  States .97-99 

Library  of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley,  as  a  pioneer 61,  62 

Lincoln,  President  Abraham 242,  246,  284,  287,  288,289,  300 

Liquor,  intoxicating,  forbidden  to  the  troops,  by  General  Sibley 322 

List  of  published  writings,  by  H.  H.  Sibley 406 

Little  Crow,  "  Ta-wai-o-ta-doo-ta, "  "  Le  Petit  Corbeau  " — 

Historic  notice  of,  by  H.  H.  Sibley 332,  333 

Leader  of  the  massacre  in  1862 252 

Correspondence  with  H.  H.  Sibley 262,  265 

Defeated  at  Birch  Coolie 260 

Defeated  at  Wood  lake 271,  272 

Escapes  to  the  Yankton  Sioux 273,  274 

Reward  of  five  hundred  dollars  offered  for  the  capture  of. 281 

Fate  of 332,  333 

Scalp  and  arm  bones  of 333 

Other  reference  to 67,  255,  257,  258 

Livingston,  M.  Crawford 427 

Mrs.  Crawford  (Mary  Steele) 427 

Mary  Steele 427 

Abbie  Potts 427 

Henry  Sibley 427 

Gcrahl 427 


INDEX.  571 

Page. 

Loan,  the  "Five  Million"— 

The  folly  of  Minnesota 230 

Forbidden  by  the  State  Constitution 231 

The  Constitution  amended  to  favor  the 231 

The  people,  regardless  of  party,  approve  the  amendment  to  favor 
the 231,  238,  239 

Loomis,  Colonel  Gustavus 63 

Longfellow,  quoted 88 

Louisiana  Purchase,  The  — 

Extent  of 118 

Price  paid  for 118 

Acquired  under  Jefferson's  administration 118 

M. 

Mackinac — 

H.  H.  Sibley,  clerk  at,  five  years 48-50 

H.  H.  Sibley  leaves  Mackinac  for  Mendota 55 

Mclntyre,  Mr.  Charles 427 

Mrs.  Charles  (Abbie  Potts) 427 

William  (deceased) 427 

Alice 427 

Charles 427 

Helen 427 

McKnight,  Mrs.  S — 

Splendid  painting  by,  in  the  office  of  General  Sibley 425 

McLaren,  Major 272,  291,  304,  311 

McPhail,  Captain,  First  regiment,  cavalry 257-291,  304,  309 

Magi  from  the  East,  visiting  St.  Paul 214 

Malmros,  Adjutant  General  0 256,  268 

Mankato — 

Scene  of  the  execution  of  the  sentenced  Indians 289 

Retreat  from  New  Ulm  to 255 

Maniac,  the  (a  poem) 250 

Marsh,  Captain  (massacred) y 253 

Marshall,  Lieutenant  Colonel — 

Seventh  regiment,   272,  276,  279,  282,  291,  304,  309,  310,  311,  312, 

320,  326 
Conducts  the  captured  Indians  to  Fort  Snelling 281 

Marshall,  Governor — 

Proposes  a  scheme  for  liquidation  of  the  state  railroad  bonds 351 

Tributes  to  General  Sibley 320,  344,  374 

Marryatt,  British  Naval  Post  Captain,  and  Novelist — 

Is  a  guest  of  H.  H.  Sibley,  at  Mendota 91 

Is  dismissed  from  his  hospitality 92 

Martin,  H 372 

Mason,  Hon.  Mr. — 

Ridicules  the  speech  of  H.  H.  Sibley,  defending  the  rights  of  the 

red  man 157 

Replied  to  by  Mr.  Sibley 157 


572  INDEX. 

Page. 
Massachusetts  Bay  Company — 

Surrender  of  its  charter,  the  germ  of  American  independence 15 

Massacre,  the  Sioux  of  1862 — 

Description  of. 243 

Extent  of. 249 

Causes  of. 251,  252 

Helpless  condition  of  the  state  at  the  time  of. ...  256 

Not  without  some  excuse 293 

Prophecy  of,  by  Mr.  Sibley 155 

M'dewakontonwans  (Village  of  the  Spirit  Lake) 65 

Mendota  (St.  Peter's)  — 

H.  H.  Sibley  arrives  at,  November  7,  1834 55 

Picturesque  scenery  of. 55 

Hamletof  Bailly  at 55 

Loneliness  of. 55,  56 

Duck-shooting  near 58 

•    Comic  scene  between  H.  H.  Sibley  and  a  Sioux  Indian 58,  59 

Builds  a  house  at,  the  first  stone  residence  in  all  the  Northwest  re- 
gion  59,  60 

The  "Sibley   Hotel." 59 

Preparations  behind,  for  a  hunting  expedition 75 

H.  H.  Sibley  and  Sarah  Jane  Steele  married  at 86 

Mrs.  Dr.  A.  A.  Potts,  and  Mrs.  General  R.  W.  Johnson,  married  at     86 

H.  H.  Sibley  erects  a  church  edifice  at 64,  90 

The  home  at 90 

Distinguished  visitors  at 90,  91 

Encounter  of   H.  H.  Sibley   at,  with   Captain   Marryatt,  British 

naval  officer  and  novelist 91,  92 

The  hospitality  at 93 

Leaves,  for  Washington,  and  enters  upon  his  congressional  career. ..  105 
Senator  Douglas  desires  to  locate  the  capital  of  the  Territory  of 

Minnesota  at 121 

H.  H.  Sibley  refuses  to  have  the  capital  at 121,  208 

Governor  Alexander  Ramsey  makes  his  first  home  with  H.  H.  Sib- 
ley at 132 

Return  from  Washington  to 135,  237 

H.  H.  Sibley  leaves,  a  second  time  for  Washington 138 

H.  H.  Sibley,  having  been  elected  governor  of  the  state,  leaves,  and 

resides  in  St.  Paul,  1857 228,  229 

Description  of  Mendota 418-420 

Midnight  march  to  Birch  Coolie 260 

Millenium  — 

Invitation  to  the  legislature  of  Minnesota  to  inaugurate  the 215 

Relation  of  railroads  to  the 214 

Miller,  Colonel,  Eighth  regiment 285,  288,  289,  292 

Milton,  (|Uoted 324 

Minn«'.s()ta  Territory  — 

Tlic  liyiK'rborciin  i>iiio-log  region  of  rude  and  semi-civilized  people. 

106,  107 


INDEX.  573 

Page. 
Minnesota  Territory  —  Continued. 

Had  small  beginnings 113,  114 

History  of  the 117 

Population  of  the 120 

The  child  of  a  "  double  mother  " 119 

Schooled  under  eight  different  jurisdictions * 119 

Western  part  of,  under  six 120 

Eastern  part  of,  under  four 120 

Different  names  forthe 121 

Organization  of  the 120-130 

Struggle  of  H.  H.  Sibley  to  secure  the  passage  of  the  bill  organiz- 
ing   128 

Grand  strategy  of  H.  H.  Sibley  to  secure  the  passage  of  the  bill 129 

Wilmot  proviso  excluded  from  the  organization  of. 123,  124 

Bill  to  organize,  passed  March  3,  1849 130 

Lively  scenes  in  thefinal  struggle  to  pass  the  bill 125-128 

The  name  "Minnesota"  retained 121 

The  capital  of,  is  located  at  St.  Paul 121 

One-eighteenth  of  the  whole  secured  for  school  purposes 121 

Influence  of  H.  H.  Sibley  in  achieving  the  passage  of  the  bill  or- 
ganizing    130 

Great  help  from  Hon.  Stephen  A.   Douglas,   and  others,  in  the 

struggle  to  organize 129,  134 

Joy  of  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley  at  the  passage  of  the  bill  organizing  the..  130 

Motto  for 133 

Grand  jubilee  and  excitement  in  St.  Paul  at  news  of  the  organi- 
zation of. 133,  134 

Address  of  H.  H.  Sibley  to  the  people  of. 135 

Alexander  Ramsey,  first  governor  of 133 

Official  proclamations  of  the  actual  organization  of. 133,  137 

Aaron  Goodrich,  first  chief  justice  of. 133 

First  "  Fourth  of  July,"  after  the  organization  of. 133 

Eminent  men  vrho  aided  to  organize 134 

H.  H.  Sibley,  first  delegate  to  Congress  from 137 

The  many  wants  of 141,  142 

Legislature  of,  incorporates  March,  1854,  the  Minnesota  &  North- 
western Railroad  Company  with  enormous  powers  and  fran- 
chises, the  governor  signing  the  bill 213 

Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley,  and  others,  June,  1854,  secure  a  proviso  in  the 
Minnesota  land  bill,  in  Congress,  that  defeats  the  schemes  of  the 

company,  and  the  corruptions  of  the  legislature  of. 213 

Congress,  June,  1854,  grants  852,480  acres,  for  railway  purposes,  to  213 
Fraud  practiced  on  the  records  of  Congress  in  relation  to  the  grant 

to 215 

Booming  the,  June,  1854.     The,  invited  to  inaugurate  the  millen- 

ium 215 

H.  H.  Sibley  elected,  October,  1854,  to  the  Sixth  Legislature  of.....  216 
Governor  Gorman  protests  against  the  corruption  of. 216 


574  INDEX. 

Page. 
Minnesota  Territory —  Continued. 

Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley  exposes  the  corruption  of  the  Minnesota  &  North- 
western, and  the  legislature  of 217-219 

Legal  opinions  obtained  as  to  the  power  of  Congress  over 220,  221 

Congress,  March,  1857,  grants  4,500,000  more  acres  to 223 

Legislature  of,  May,  1857,  passes  over  to  four  delinquent  railroad 

companies,  "all  lands"  donated  by  Congress  to 213 

The  people  of  the  territory  meet,  July,  1857,  by  delegates  to  form 

a  state  constitution 223,  224 

The  State  Constitution  ratified,  October  13,  1857,  by  the  people  of, 
is  the  adopted  report,  August  29,  1852,  of  a  "Joint  Committee 
of  Conference  and  Compromise,"  composed  of  members  of  a  di- 
vided and  separately  acting  convention 223-227 

Expiration  of,  and  admission  of,  into  the  Union,  as  a  state,  April 

7,  1858 227 

Population  of,  when  admitted  as  a  state 222 

Delay  in  the  admission  of 226-228 

Injury  and  embarrassment  due  to  the  delay,  in  admitting,  as  a  state  227 

Salaries  and  duties  of  officers  of. 183 

Appropriations  made  for,  during  Mr.  Sibley's  representation  of 

128,  145,  146,  181,  191,  196,  202 

Minnesota,  State  of — 

The,  went  into  organic  operation,  as  such,  before  her  admission  into 

the  Union 227 

Hon.  Henry  Hastings  Sibley,  the  first  governor  of  the 229 

Hon.  Henry  Hastings  Sibley,  the  only  Democratic  governor  of  the  228 

Great  financial  panic,  affecting  the 229 

Constitution  of  the,  amended  to  loan  the  credit  of  the,  to  impecuni- 
ous railroad  companies,  to  the  extent  of  five  millions  of  dol- 
lars  230,  231 

Governor  Sibley  refuses  to  issue  state  railroad  bonds,  unless  the  state 
is  secured  by  "priority  of  lien  "  on  first  mortgage  bonds  of  the 

companies 233 

The  supreme  court  of  the,  assumes  jurisdiction  over  the  governor  of 
the,  on  the  technical  ground  of  a  legal  waiver,  and  the  governor 
is  compelled  under  writ  of  mandamus  to  issue  the  bonds  of  the...  233 
Dissenting  opinion  of  Hon.  Charles  E.  Flandrau  in  reference  to 

the  railroad  bonds  of  the 235 

Disastrous  failure  of  the  whole  enterprise  connected  with  the  rail- 
road bonds  of  the 236 

The,  practically  repudiates  her  financial  obligations 237,  347 

Heroic  struggle  of  Governor  Sibley  to  redeem  the  honor  and  credit 

of  the 237-239 

Appeal  to  the,  by  11.  IT.  Sibley,  as  governor  of  the,  to  redeem  her 

honor  and  credit 237 

The,  for  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  as  presidential  candidate  in  1860..243-246 
The,  represented  in  the  National  Democratic  Convention,  at  Charles- 
ton, South  Carolina,  1860,  by  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley,  and  others..24 4-246 


INDEX.  575 

Page. 

Minnesota,  State  of —  Continued. 

Defection  in  the  Democratic  delegation  of  the,  at  Charleston,  South 

Carolina,  1860 245,  246 

Hon.  Alexander  Ramsey  succeeds  Hon.  H.  H  Sibley  as  governor 

of  the 254 

The,  unprepared  for  the  Sioux  Massacre  of  1862 256,  257 

The,  depends  on  her  own  arm,  though  fighting  at  the  same  time  to 
save  the  nation,  and,  v?ithout  other  than  Minnesota  troops,  over- 
comes the  savages 273 

The,  under  Republican  rule,  repudiates  her  obligations  as  to  the 
railroad  bonds,  by  asserting  state  sovereignty,  and  changing  the 
Constitution,  expunging,  in  fact,  the  record  of  her  obligations, 
and  tying  the  hands  of  the  legislature,  the  legislature  consenting. 

347,  348 
The  disgrace  of  "repudiation"  by  the,  sought  to  be  removed  by 
various  ex-governors,  governors,  and  a  fev?  noble  men,  during  a 

conflict  of  twenty-five  long  years  of  Republican  rule 347-364 

Attitude  of  the  Democratic  party  of  the,  toward  repudiation  by  the 

359-360 
The,  redeems,  at  last,  in  measure,  her  credit,  under  the  force  of 
national  opinion,  and  oft'er  of  compromise  by  the  bondholders....  361 

Ministerial  support  in  early  times 24 

Missionaries,  early,  of  the  territory 64 

Motto  of  the  territorial  seal 132,  326 

Music,  church,  in  early  times 24 

N. 

Neill,  Rev.  E.  D.,  D.D.— 

Tribute  to  Mrs.  H.  H.  Sibley 88 

On  the  motto  of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota 134 

Sermon  on  railroads 214 

At  the  bi-centennial  of  the  discovery  of  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony...  368 
Tribute  to  H.  H.  Sibley's  humanity  and  kindness 415 

Nelson,  Judge,  United  States  Circuit  Court,  the  decision  of,  as  to  the 
state  railroad  bonds 368 

New  England  — 

The  true  spiritof  a  man  of 22 

A  religious  more  than  commercial  plaint 22 

Chief  towns  of,  within  thirty  years  after  landing  of  the  Pilgrims...       3 

Salem,  Massachusetts,  the  second  town  in 3 

New  Plymouth,  the  first  town  m 3 

New  Ulm.     {See  Ulm. ) 

Nicollet,  Jean,  early  explorer 68,  69 

Nicollet,  Jean  — 

Guest  of  H.  H.  Sibley  at  Mendota 90 

Tribute  to,  by  H.  H.  Sibley 91 

Norris,  James,  obscure  person  to  whom  Minnesota  is  indebted  for  her 
first  congressional  appropriation 128 


676  INDEX. 

Page. 

North,  Mr.  J.  W 224 

Northrop,  Cyrus,  LL.D.,  letter  of,  to  General  Sibley 378 

Northwest  Territory  — 

Origin  of  the  expression 117 

Extent  of  the 117 

Ceded,  by  Virginia,  to  the  United  States 117 

Minnesota  the  only  state  formed  out  of  the,  whose  boundary  lines, 

east  and  west,  cross  the  Mississippi 118 

Number  of  states  designed  to  be  formed  out  of  the 121 

Consecrated  to  freedom 117 

Notes,  private,  of  General  Sibley,  on  the  Sioux  War 249,  256,  263,  276 

Extracts  from 275,  276,  294 

o. 

Office,  the  Business,  of  General  Sibley  — 

Description  of 425 

Olin,  Lieutenant,  Third  regiment 279,  304 

Old  settlers  in  Minnesota 69,  120 

Opinion,  legal,  of  Walworth,  Bronson,  Noyes,  and  Barbour,  as  to  the 

power  of  Congress  to  annul  a  territorial  charter 220,  221 

Order,  military,  of  General  Sibley,  for  the  homeward  march 317 

Other-Day,  John  (friendly  Indian)  — 

Bravery  of,  at  battle  of  Wood  Lake 272,  425 

Party  — 

The  Democratic,  in  Minnesota,  organized  in  1850 223 

The  Republican,  in  Minnesota,  organized  in  1854 223 

Sharp  conflict  of  both  parties  in  Minnesota  in  1857 223 

Parliamentary  Tactics  — 

In  the  final  struggle  to  pass  the  bill  organizing  the  Territory  of 

Minnesota 125-129 

In  the  effort  by  each  political  party  to  gain  control  of  the  conven- 
tion to  form  the  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Minnesota 224,  225 

Patterson,  Rev.  A.  B 64 

Patton,  Rev.  F.  L.,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  letter  of,  to  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley 375 

Pear,  huge,  grown  by  Solomon  Sibley 34 

Pew  system  in  Sutton,  Massachusetts 23 

Pillsbury,  Governor  — 

Appoints   H.  H.  Sibley  president  of  the  board  of  regents  of  the 

University  of  Minnesota 345 

Inijjlores  the  legislature  to  repel  repudiation 356,  357 

Calls  an  extra  sessionof  the  legislature 358 

One  of  names  to  be  remembered  363 

Letter  of,  to  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley 366 

Pilgrims,  landing  of  the 3 

Pioneers,  the  Early  — 

l)ri vations  of  39-42 


INDEX,  577 

Page. 
Pioneers,  the  Early  —  Continued. 

Character  of. 72 

Defease  of 1G5-172,  185-187 

Pioneer  Press  of  St.  Paul  — 

Tribute  to  General  Sibley 378,  379 

Polk,  President  James  K 104 

Pond,  Rev.  S.  W.,  missionary ., 04 

Rev.  G.  W.,  missionary 64 

Pope,  Major  General,  United  States  Army 267,268,  269 

Pope,  First  Lieutenant  (see  Staflf) 304 

Pope,  Mrs.  Douglas  (Augusta  Sibley) 427 

Alice 427 

Augusta 427 

Elsie 427 

Potts,  Dr.  T.  R 86,  89,  427 

Mrs.  Dr.  T.  R.  (Abbie  Ann  Steele) 86,  89,  427 

Mary  Steele  (Mrs.  Crawford  Livingston) 427 

Henry  Sibley ^ 427 

John  Charles 427 

Abbie  (Mrs.  Charles  Mclntyre) 427 

Rev.  George,  D.D.,  New  York 89 

Rev.  George  E.,  Philadelphia 89 

Major  John  C,  New  Orleans 89 

Prairie  du  Chien 55 

Prairie  on  fire 314 

Presbyterian  church,  the  first  in  Minnesota 72 

Pre-emption  of  uusurveyed  lands 163-172 

Princeton  College,  New  Jersey  — 

Confers  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  on  General  Sibley 375-377 

Provencalle,  Louis , 69 

Purgatory  and  icicles 21    28 

Puritan  names ..     27 

Puritan  worship,  music,  and  pew  system 22 

Plymouth  Rock,  landing  of  Pilgrimsat 3 

Plymouth,  New,  founding  of 3 

Plymouth  Company's  grant  to  Endicott 16 

Plymouth  Company's  charter  surrendered  to  Winthrop  and  his  company     15 

Plympton,  Major  J 56 

Poem,  "Then  and  Now,"  by  General  Sibley 402-404 

Poem,  "Our  Commander,"  by  Captain  Henry  Castle 374 

Political  Parties  — 

None  organized  in  Minnesota  prior  to  November,  1849 138 

Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley  advises  against  distraction  of  the  young  Terri- 
tory of  Minnesota  by  formation  of 134,  135 

Struggle  of,  to  gain  power  in  newly  organized  territories,  and  to 

shape  the  organization  itself 97 

The  three  opposing,  of  1849 139 

((/)  The  Whig 139 

37 


578  Index. 

Page. 
Political  Parties  —  Continued. 

(h)  The  Democratic 139 

(c)  The  Free  Soil 139 

The  leaders  of  these 139 

Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley's  relation  to  these 134,  135 

Severe  conflict  of  these  in  the  house  of  representatives,  in  the  elec- 
tion of  a  speaker 139,  140 

Breaking  up  of 176 

Attitude  of  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley  toward  party  politics,  1852 201 

The  four  opposing  of  1860 242,  243 

(a)  That  of  the  Northern  Democracy 242 

(&)  That  of  theSouthern  Democracy 242 

(c)  That  of  the  Constitutional  Union 242 

((/)  That  of  the  Republican 242 

The  leaders  of  these 242 

Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley's  relation  to  these 243,  245 

A  "  War  Democrat, "  and  supporter  of  Douglas 246 


Q. 


Quotations  from,  or  Allusions  to  — 

Alison,  the  historian 64,  65 

Arnold,  Dr.  Thomas 113 

Aristotle 361,  362 

Berkeley,  Bishop 31 

Csesar 255,  306,  332 

Cicero 328,  362 

De  Maistre 113 

Goldsmith 186 

Horace 69,  363,  381,  406,  424,  426 

Longfellow 88,  430 

Milton 324 

Pascal 114 

Plato 407 

Sallust : 390 

Sophocles 364 

Shakespeare 187,  190,  411 

Shirley 426 

Tacitus 242 

Terence 296 

Wellesley 431 

Whittier 409 

Wordsworth 352,  410 

H. 

liailroiid  coiiipimios  and  the  early  history  of  Minnesota 223 

Minnesota  tt  i'aciric  223 

Minneapolis  &  Cedar  Valley 223 

TrauBit 223 


INDP]X.  579 

Page. 

Railroad  Companies,  etc. —  Continued. 

Southern  Minnesota 223 

Minnesota  &  Northwestern 212-219 

Railroad  — 

Projection  by  H.  H.  Sibley  of  a  grand,  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to 

the  British  line 201,  203,  204 

And  from  St.  Louis  river.  Lake  Superior,  to  St.  Paul 178,  205 

Ramsey,  Governor  — 

First  governor  of  Minnesota  Territory 122 

Guest  at  Mr.  Sibley's  Mendotahome 133 

Proclaims  the  territory  organized 133 

Second  governor  of  the  state 254 

Commissions  H.  H.  Sibley  colonel 254 

Refuses  to  grant  Colonel  Sibley's  application  to  be  relieved  of  his 

commission  and  command 278 

Urges  the  execution  of  the  Indians 281 

Proclamation  of,  against  lawlessness  and  violence 286 

Meets  General  Sibley  returning  from  his  second  campaign 326 

Urges  General  Sibley's  promotion 336,  338 

At  the  bi-centennial 368 

Ravoux,  Father 289 

Redfield,  Captain  290 

Regiments,  and   Companies,  engaged   in  the   Sioux  Expedition,  1862- 
1863,  under  Colonel,  then  General,  Sibley  — 

First  Minnesota  Mounted  Rangers,  Colonel  McPhail. 

Third  Minnesota  Volunteers,  Major  Welch. 

Sixth  Minnesota  Volunteers,  Colonel  Crooks. 

Seventh  Minnesota  Volunteers,  Colonel  Marshall. 

Eighth  Minnesota  Volunteers,  Colonel  Miller. 

Ninth  Minnesota  Volunteers,  Captain  Chase. 

Tenth  Minnesota  Volunteers,  Colonel  Baker. 

Cullen  Guard,  Colonel  McPhail. 

Renville  Rangers,  Lieutenant  Gorman. 

Artillery,  Captain  Jones. 

Scouts,  under  Major  Brown,  McLeod,  and  Dooley. 

Volunteer  companies  re-enlisted 257,  258,  304,  305,  317 

Renville  Rangers 252.  253,  271,  274 

Republican  Party  of  Minnesota  — 

Organized  in  1854  223 

Attitude  toward  the  state  railroad  bonds 360 

Republican  legislature,  extra  session  of,  in  1860,  as  to  the  state  railroad 
bonds 358 

Revolutionary  record  of  the  Sibleys 32 

Rice,  Senator  Henry  M. — 

One  of  the  pre-territorial  settlers  of  Minnesota 69,  120 

Statement  of,  as  to  the  relation  of  the  Indians  of  the  West  to  the 

Civil  War 282 

Statement  of,  as  to  the  number  of  Indians  to  be  executed 292 

At  the  bi-centennial 368 


580  INDEX. 

Eiggs,  Rev.  S.  R.— 

Early  missionary  in  Minnesota 64 

Distribution  of  the  Dakotas  by 65 

Chaplain  on  staff  of  General  Sibley 279,  304 

On  the  military  commission  to  try  the  Indians 279 

Condemns  the  white  man's  conduct  toward  the  Indians 284 

Tribute  to  General  Sibley 320 

Rockwell,  Hon.  M.,  of  Massachusetts,  resists  the  establishment  of  the 
Territory  of  Minnesota 125,  126 

Rocque,  Old  Indian  Trader  — 

Humorous  story  about 223 

Rolette,  Joseph,  Sr. — 

Firm  of  Dousman,  Rolette  <.t  Sibley 53 

Root,  Hon.  Mr.  of  Ohio  — 

Resists  and  ridicules  the  establishment  of  the  Territory  of  Minne- 
sota  106,  107,  123 

Persistent  obstructor  of  Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley 143-145 

s. 

Salem,  Massachusetts  — 

Second  town  planted  in  New  England 3 

Called  "Mahumbcak"  by  the  Indians  3 

Called  "Mahumkeik"  by  the  Pilgrims 3 

Called  from  Psalm  76:2 3 

The  residence  of  the  first  American  Sibleys 17 

First  Protestant  church  of  the  New  World  in  19 

John  Sibley  of  Salem,  a  member  of  the  first  Protestant  church  in 

the  New  World 19 

Rev.  Francis  Higginson  arrives  in 16,  19 

Mrs.  Sarah  Sibley  "raises  the  Devil  in  Salem,  by  advising  Indian 

John  howto  make  cake" 29 

Witchcraft  in 29,  30 

Sandbank  grave  of  the  executed  Indians 291 

Scalping  of  Indians 295,296,  311 

Atrocity  of 333 

Schenck,  Hon.  Mr.,  of  Ohio,  resists  the  establishment  of  the  Territory  of 

Minnesota 127 

School  lands  of  Minnesota 121 

Two  .sections  in  each  township,  a  double  (juantity,  or  one-eighteenth 
of  the  whole  domain  of  Minnesota,  secured  by  H.  H.  Sibley  for 

school  purposes 121,  122 

Memoiial  to  Congress  to  place  the,  at  the  disposition  of  the  legis- 
lature   145 

Schoolcraft,  Henry  R 90 

Discoverer  of  the  source  of  the  Mississippi 91 

Legend  of  Hiawatha  ])y 430 

Secession,  its  relation  to  the  Indian  outbreak  in  Minnesota 281,  282 

Seymour,  Hon.  Mr.,  of  New  York,  stands  by  Mr.  Sibley  in  a  critical  mo- 
ment   193 


INDEX.  581 

PA(iK. 

Slieehan,  Captain 200 

Sherman,  Hon.  John,  of  Ohio  — 

Attack  on  Hon.  H.  H.Sibley 228 

Attack  of,  resented  by  (lovernor  Sibley 228 

Sherman,  General  William  Tecumseh 368 

Sibleys  — 

Various  forms  of  the  name 4,  11,  12 

Derivation  of  the  name  of  the 4,  5 

The  English 6-14 

The  St.  Albans 6-8 

The,  of  Kent 7 

The,  of  Kent  and  Hertfordshire 8 

Antiquity  of  the 11 

Hyde  Clarke's  account  of  the 9,  11 

Distinguished  English  connections  of  the 11 

Coats  of  arms  of  the 5-10 

Fairbairn's  crests  of  the 6 

Burke's  arms  of  the 6,  7 

Dugdale's  arms  of  the 6 

Hasted' s  explanation  of  the  arms  of  the 7 

Connection  of  the  Kent  and  Hertfordshire 8 

The  first  American 2,  4,  20 

TheWinthrop  Fleet  and  the 14,  17 

The  Endicott  Fleet  and  the 16 

The  Charlestown  and  Salem 8,  19 

The  space  between  the  English  and  American 9,  21 

The  line  of  the,  backward  from  the  Winthrop  Fleet  to  William  the 

Conqueror , 11-13 

The  line  of  the,  forward  from  the  Winthrop  Fleet  till  now 13-46 

Counties  in  England  where  the,  are  found 14 

The  Salem 8,  19,  20 

The  Sutton  8,  19,  20,  25,  23 

The,  a  religious.  Godfearing  people 21 

Curious  stories  about  the 21-24 

Intermarriages  of  the 25 

Ranks,  occupations,  and  professions  of  the 25 

Distinguished  American  connections  of  the 26 

Prominence  and  numbers  of  the 24-27 

Colonial  record  of  the 32 

Revolutionary  record  of  the 32 

Sibley  — 

John,  mayor  of  St.  Albans 6,  8 

John,  barrister  of  Gray's  Inn 6 

John,  prebendary  of  Lincoln 11 

John,  clerk  of  the  star  chamber 13 

Henry,  high  sheriff  of  Hertford 6 

Thomas,  high  sheriff  of  Hertford 6 


582  INDEX. 

Page. 
Sibley —  Continued. 

Thomas,  Esq.,  of  Yardley 7,  8 

Nicholas,  Esq.,  of  Yardley 7,  8 

Edward,  of  monastery  of  St.  Albans 8 

Richard,  of  Cogeuhoe 11 

Thomas,  clerk 14 

Thomas,  of  Leicester 14 

William,  of  Leicester 14 

John  L,  of  Charlestown 3,  18 

John  I.,  of  Salem 2,  3 

John  L,  of  Salem,  descendants  of 2,  3,  20 

John  L,  of  Salem,  traditions  about 2,  3 

Richard,  ofSalem 2,  3 

Samuel,  deacon,  of  Sutton 24 

Joseph  I.,  of  Sutton 3 

Joseph  II.,  of  Sutton 3 

Jonathan  III.,  of  Sutton 3 

Reuben,  of  Sutton 3 

Solomon,  of  Sutton 3 

Joseph,  Lieutenant,  of  Sutton 24 

Joseph,  Captain,  of  Sutton 24 

John,  park  Keeper,  of  Sutton 25 

Nathaniel,  Captain,  of  Sutton 25 

Timothy,  Colonel,  of  Sutton 25 

Jonas,  Hon.,  of  Sutton 26 

Jonas  L.,  Esq.,  of  Sutton 26 

Mark  Hopkins,  Hon.,  of  Sutton 26 

John,  Dr.,  of  Natchitoches 26 

Oscar  E.,  of  New  York 26 

Hiram,  Esq.,  of  Rochester 26 

George  E.,  Esq.,  of  New  York 26 

Caleb,  Brevet  Major  General,  United  States  Army 26 

Septimus,  Dr.,  of  London,  England 26 

George,  General,  of  London  (Indian  decoration) 10 

Henry  Hoi)kius,  Hon.,  of  St.  Louis 26 

Henry  Hopkins,  Major  General,  Confederate  Army  26 

Josiah,  of  Augusta 27 

Richard,  of  Stamford , 27 

Solomon,  of  Detroit,  fatherof  Henry  Hastings 32 

Cliildren  of  Solomon 35 

Ebenezer  Sproat,  Colonel,  United  States  Army 35 

Alexander  Hamilton 35 

Frederic  B 35 

Henry  Hastings 35 

John  Langdon,  Rev.,  li))rarian  of  Yale 18,  26 

Mrs.  Ricliard,  of  Cogciilioe 11 

Mrs.  John  (liachel),  of  Salem 17 

MrH.  Jolin  (Sarah),  of  Charlestown 18 


INDEX.  583 

Pagk. 
Sibley  —  Continued. 

Mrs.  Mary  Wessels,  of  New  York 26 

Mrs.  May  Peet,  of  Stamford 26 

Mrs.  Jonathan  (Sarah  Dow,  tall  bride),  of  Sutton 28 

Mrs.  Samuel  ("Sister  Mary"),  of  Salem 29 

Mrs.  Solomon  (Sarah  Whipple  Sproat,  mother  of  Henry  Hastings).. 

35,  36,  41 

Phoebe 35 

Catherine  W 35 

Catherine  Whipple 35 

Mary  S 35 

Augusta  Ann 35 

Sarah  Alexandrine 35 

Mrs.  Sarah  Jane  (wife  of  Henry  Hastings) 88 

Hannah 25 

Susanna 25 

Huldah 25,  26 

Mary 25 

Mary  Ann 25 

Elizabeth 26 

Catherine  Whipple 26 

Sarah 26 

Sibley,  Henry  Hastings  — 

Ancestral  line  of 2 

Immediate  ancestor  of 2,  21,  32 

Birth  of 43 

British  prisoner  when  a  babe 44 

Early  boyhood  of,  and  education 47 

Leaves  home  for  Sault  Ste.  Marie 47,  48 

Clerk  in  a  sutler's  store 48 

Agent  for  a  widow 48 

Clerk  in  the  American  Fur  Company  for  five  years 48,  52 

Goes  to  Mackinac 48 

Hardships  by  the  way 48 

Trip  to  Chicago  and  return,  in  1829 49 

Unites  with  the  Presbyterian  Church 62 

Trip  to  Detroit,  and  return,  in  1832 49,  50 

Gay  entering  into  the  city 84 

Supply  purchasing  agent 52 

Becomes  a  partner  in  the  new  fur  company  (viz.,  Dousman,  Rolette, 

and  Sibley) 53,  54 

Leaves  Mackinac,  and  comes  to  Prairie  du  Chien;  thence   to  Men- 

dota,  in  1834 54 

Emotions  when  reaching  Mendota 55 

The  splendid  gander-shot 52 

The  Indian  and  the  ducks 58,  59 

Purchases  Alexis  Bailly's  interest 59,  60 


584  INDEX. 

Page. 
Sibley,  Henry  Hastings  —  Continued. 

Builds  stone  warehouse  and  residence 60 

His  tour  of  inspection 60 

The  otfered  squaw 60,  61 

His  literary  activity 62 

His  religious  views 62,  63 

Helps  form  the  first  Presbyterian  church 63 

Vindication  of  early  traders  by 70-72 

Vindication  of  early  pioneers  ])y 72 

Hunting  expedition  of  1840 73 

Hunting  expedition  of  1841 74 

Pides  ten  miles  bareheaded  in  wiuter  time 76 

His  Indian  costume  and  appearance  at  this  time 78 

Named  ' '  Hal  a  Dakotah ' '  and  ' '  Wahzeomanzee  "  or  "  Walker-in- 

the-Pines" 79 

Pursuit  of  elk 80 

Encounter  with  a  buffalo 80,  81 

Protects  an  Indian  camp 82 

Relieves  the  dying  Wahpetons 83 

Only  civil  magistrate  in  a  region  large  as  the  Empire  of  France 84 

Mode  of  administering  justice 84,  85 

Marries  Sarah  Jane  Steele 85 

Family  of 89 

Mendota  home  of 90 

Distinguished  guests  of 91 

Church  edifice  erected  by 90 

Hosjiitality  of  the  home  at  Mendota 90 

Thirtieth  Congress,  second  session;  entrance  on  his  congressional  ca- 
reer  94,  103 

Delegate  from  the  residuum  of  Wisconsin  Territory 104,  105 

Territorial  extent  of  the  United  States  at  this  time 97 

The  great  questions  agitating  the  United  States  at  this  time 97-103 

Was,  successively,  a  citizen  of  four   different  territories,  without 

once  changing  his  residence 119 

Curiosity  at  his  first  appearance  in  Congress 106 

Struggle  for  his  seat 104,  112 

His  maiden  speech 109-111 

Compliment  of  Chief  Justice  Goodrich 107,  108 

I  mportance  of  the  struggle 113,  114 

Eflbrts  in  organizing  the  Territory  of  Minnesota 120-130 

Secures  two  sections  of  land  for  school  purposes,  in  every  township  123 

Secures  the  name  of  Minnesota 121 

Locates  <;apitol  at  St.  Paul 122 

Resists  the  Wilmot  proviso 123 

Successful  strategy  of,  to  secure  the  passage  of  the  bill  organizing 

the  Territory  of  MiniHj.-^ota 129,  130 

Addresses  a  circuiar  to  tlw  nieml)crs  of  the  house 126 

llisfiiitlKr  lal)ors 131-135 


INDEX.  •  585 

Page. 
Bibley,  Henry  Hastings — Continued. 

His  first  address  to  his  constituents 135 

Thirty-first  Congress,  first  session 137 

Address  to  the  people  of  Minnesota 137 

Efibrts  against  the  whisky  traffic 138 

Foreman  of  the  first  grand  jury  west  of  the  Mississippi .  139 

Complexion  of  Congress  in  1849-1850 139 

A  Democrat,  but  not  a  partisan ...137,  178 

Labors  of,  in  Congress 141,  142 

Bills  introduced  by 143 

Appropriations  obtained 145,  146 

Resists  the  admission  of  the  Utah  and  New  Mexico  delegates....  146-1 48 

Asserts  the  rights  of  delegates 149-154 

Arraigns,  in  a  great  speech,  the  Indian  policy  of  the  government..l51-156 

Predicts  the  Sioux  massacre  of  1862 155 

Defends  the  Indian's  right,  and  replies  to  Mr.  Mason 157 

The  Thirty-first  Congress,  second  session 158 

Bills  introduced  by 158-160 

Contends  for  the  reduction  of  the  Fort  Snelling  reservation 161-163 

Contends  for  the  right  to  lease  the  school  lands 163 

Contends  for  the  right  of  pre-emption  of  unsurveyed  lands 165-167 

Replies  to  M.  Bowlin 167 

The  "Higher  Law,"  of  Minnesota 168 

Replies  to  Stevens  and  Wentworth 168-170 

Defends  the  principle  of  natural  right 170,  171 

Asserts  the  doctrine  of  Douglas 172 

Demands  reorganization  of  the  Indian  department 173 

Thirty-Second  Congress,  first  session 175 

Character  of  the  times 175 

Complexion  of  Congress 176 

Had  no  vote  in  the  compromise  measures 177 

A  Jefifersonian  Democrat 178 

Bills,  resolutions,  and  petitions  introduced  by 178-180 

A  ppropriations  secured  by 181 

An  effective  speaker 182 

Insists  on  the  fidelity  of  territorial  officers 183 

Assails  the  policy  of  the  government  and  pleads,  victoriously,  for 

the  homestead  bill 184-187 

Defeats  the  scheme  in  Bissell's  bill  for  the  indigent  insane 188-191 

Saves  five  roads  to  Minnesota 191-196 

The  sharp  and  final  struggle 195 

His  grand  appeal  for  aid  in  behalf  of  the  starving  Indians 196-200 

Thirty-second  Congress,  second  session 200 

Complexion  of  Congress 200 

His  course  at  such  a  critical  time 201 

Bills  introduced  by 201,  202 

Appropriations  secured  by 202 

His  project  of  a  grand  national  railroad  from  the  Gulf  to  British 

line 203-205 

38 


586  •  INDEX. 

Page. 
Sibley,  Henry  Hastings — Continued. 

His  last  appeal  for  a  railroad  from  Lake  Superior  to  St.  Paul 205-207 

His  last  act  in  Congress 207 

Obligations  of  Minnesota  to 208 

Eeraarks  on  the  congressional  career  of. 207-209 

Post-cougressibual  career  of. 211 

Election  of,  to  the  territorial  legislature,  October,  1853 211 

Fights  the  charter  of  the  Minnesota  &  Northwestern  Railroad  Com-     • 

pany 212,  213 

Secures  a  proviso  in  the  Minnesota  land  bill 213 

Fights  the  corruption  of  the  legislature  of  1855 216,  217 

Exposes  the  corruption  in  a  memorial  to  Congress 218,  219 

Asserts  the  power  of  Congress  to  disapprove  and  disaffirm  territo- 
rial legislation 222 

Exposes  the  corruption  of  the  Minnesota  &  Northwestern  Railroad 

Company 218 

Asserts  the  right  of  Congress  to  annul  a  fraudulent  charter 219 

Elected  president  of  the  Democratic  branch  of  the  convention  to 

form  the  State  Constitution 224 

Elected,  1857,  first  governor  of  the  State  of  Minnesota 222 

Chastises  Hon.  John  Sherman  of  Ohio 228 

Financial  panic  of  1857 229 

Opposes  the  "  Five  Million  Loan"  to  railroad  companies 230 

Votes  against  amending  the  Constitution  to  favor  the  loan 231 

Construes  the  amendment  in  favor  of  the  state  233 

Requires  a  "  priority  of  lien  "  on  the  property  of  the  railroad  com- 
panies before  issuing  the  state  bonds 233 

Yields  to  the  mandamus  of  the  supreme  court  and  issues  the  bonds  234 

Hindered,  by  Republican  press,  from  negotiating  the  bonds 236 

Ceases  to  issue  the  bonds 236 

Recjuires  foreclosure,  and  delivery  of  property  to  the  state,  by  the 

defaulting  companies 236 

Denounces  threatened  repudiation 236,  237 

His  relation  to  the  bonds 237-239 

Error  of  the  supreme  court 238 

Vindicates  the  law  again.st  mob  violence 239 

Recommends  — 

The  organization  of  the  militia 239 

The  amendment  of  the  laws 239 

The  arrest  of  lawless  Indians 239 

The  pursuit  of  fugitives  from  justice 239 

The  encouragement  of  i m m igration 239 

The  reduction  of  election  districts 239 

The  necessity  of  norma!  scliools 239 

The  opening  of  the  university  240 

The  promotion  of  agriculture  and  commerce 240 

Close  of  the  administration  of,  January  1,  1860 240 

HiH  political  relations  in  the  year  1860:  —  a  DougUis  Democrat 243 


INDEX.  587 

Page. 
Sibley,  Heury  Hastings  —  Continued. 

A  delegate  to  the  convention  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  18G0....  244 

Eletted  a  member  of  the  National  Committee 245 

Votes  steadily  for  Douglas 245 

First  Military  Campaign  —  Commencement  of  his  military  career 248 

Commissioned,  August  19,  1862,  as  colonel  commanding  the  expe- 
dition against  the  Sioux  Indians,  in  1862 254 

His  view  of  the  situation 255,  256 

His  view  that  of  General  Malmros 256 

His  burdens  and  responsi])ilities 257 

His  view  of  the  objects  of  the  expedition 257 

Orders,  August  25th,  the  advance* of  Colonel  McPhail 258 

Starts  in  force,  after  Little  Crow,  August  25,  1862 257,  258 

Reaches  Fort  Ridgley,  August28,  1862 258 

Orders,  August  31st,  the  advance  of  Major  Brown  and  burial  party  259 
Orders,  September  2d,  McPhail  to  advance,  for  the  relief  of  Major 

Brown 259 

Marches,  in  force,  at  midnight,  September  2d,  against  Little  Crow.  260 

Fights  the  battle  of  Birch  Coolie,  September  3,  1862 260,  261 

Opens  correspondence  with  Little  Crow 262 

His  continuance  of  the  correspondence 263 

Assailed  by  the  public  press .* 265 

His  private  letters  to  his  wife 266,  267 

In  view  of  complaints  and  calumnies,  and  anxious  to  be  relieved, 
places,  three  times,  his  commission  as  colonel  commanding  the 
Indian  expedition,  at  the  disposal  of  Governor  Ramsey.. 266,  267,  278 
The  staff  and  field  officers  of,  protest  against  the  purpose  of  Colonel 

Sibley,  and  forward  their  protest  to  Major  General  Pope 278 

Is  vindicated  by  official  dispatches  of  Malmros  and  Pope.... 268,  269 

Is  vindicated  by  the  nature  of  the  situation 270 

Is  vindicated  by  the  results  of  his  jjolicy 270,  271 

Fights  the  decisive  battle  of  Wood  Lake,  September  23,  1862.  .271,  272 

Lacks  a  cavaliy  force,  to  pursue 272 

Letter  of,  to  his  wife 273 

Crosses  the  Yellow  Medicine  river  and  bivouacs  on  the  prairie,  near 

Camp  Release 272 

Invades  the  Sioux  camp,  and  releases  the  captives 274 

His  thrilling  description  of  the  release 275,  276 

The  application  of,  to  be  relieved,  is  refused  by  Governor  Ramsey. 
Major  General  Pope. and  Major  General  Halleck  insisting  on  the 

retention  and  promotion  of. 278 

Is  created  brigadier  general 278 

Organizes  a  military  commission  to  try  the  Indian  criminals 279 

Goes  into  winter  quarters 280 

Conducts,  in  person,  under  guard,  four  hundred  manacled  Sioux,  to 

Camp  Lincoln 280 

Dispatches  Colonel  Marshall  with  eighteen  hundred  Indian  prison- 
ers to  Fort  Snelling 281 


588  INDEX. 

Page. 
Sibley,  Henry  Hastings — Continued. 

Guards  the  condemned  Indians 286 

Orders  the  execution  of  the  condemned  Indians 288 

Reports  the  execution  to  President  Lincoln 289 

Is  officially  notified  of  his  appointment  as  brigadier  general 297 

Desires  to  withdraw  from  military  life,  but  yields  to  the  voice  of 

the  people  of  Minnesota,  and  remains  in  the  service 299,  300 

Is  renominated  as  brigadier  general 300,  301 

Second  military  campaign  of 302,  303 

Leaves  St.  Paul,  June  6,  1863 303 

Reaches  Camp  Pope,  June  7th 303 

His  effective  force,  and  staff : 304 

Breaks  camp,  and  marches  out,  June  16,  1863 304 

Justification  of  the  large  force  of 304 

Is  the  subject  of  groundless  detraction 306 

Description  of  the  march  of 306 

Reaches,  July  4th,  the  Cheyenne  river 306 

Opens  communication  with  Chippewa  half-breeds,  near  Devil's 

lake 307 

Reaches  Camp  Atchison,  July  20,  1863 307 

Makes  forced  marches  in  pursuit  of  the  retreating  Sioux 307 

Fights  the  battle  of  Big  Mound,  July  24,  1863 308 

Immediate  pursuit  prevented,  by  misunderstanding  of  an  prder  of.   309 

Fights  the  battle  of  Dead  Bufitilo  Lake,  July  26,  1863 310,  311 

Fights  the  battle  of  Stony  Lake,  July  28,  1863 311-313 

Dismisses  a  captured  Teton  with  words  of  kindness 313 

Continues  his  forced  marching 313 

Reaches  the  Missouri  river,  July  29,  1863;  having  driven  10,000 

Indiafis  across  the  river;  General  Sully  not  intercepting 314,  316 

Issues,  at  Camp  Braden,  July  31st,  the  order  for  the  return  of  the 

expedition • 317,  318 

Importance  of  the  victories  of,  to  the  state  and  nation 318,  319 

Testimony  as  to  the  generalship  and  military  success  of 320,  321 

Sunday  observance  by,  during  his  campaigns 322 

Prohibition  of  liquor  by 322 

Personal  bereavement  of,  during  the  second  campaign 322-325 

Vivid  dream  of,  in  his  tent 324 

Reaches  St.  Paul,  September  8,  1863 326 

Moral  effect  of  the  campaigns  of,  upon  the  Indians 327 

Observations  upon  the  problem  sought  to  be  solved  by  the  cam- 
paigns of. 327-332 

Post-military  career  of 335 

Charles  Sumner's  action  in  the  United  States  Senate,  in  relation  to 

confirmation  of  the  rank  of 336 

Formal  commission  of,  as  brigadier  general 336 

TransmisHion  of  commission  to 337 

Acknowledgjnent  of  commission  to 337 

Elected  direcU^r  in  Minnesota  V^alley  Railroad  Company 337 


INDEX.  589 

Paob. 

Sibley,  Henry  Hastings  —  Continued. 

Is  appointed  major  general  United  States  Volunteers 338 

Acknowledges  the  honor 338 

United  States  Senate  confirms  the  brevet  of 339 

Formal  commission  ofbrevet  transmitted 339 

Acceptance  of  the  commission  of 340 

Is  honorably  mustered  out  of  service,  and  the  order  is  revoked  for 

important  reasons 340 

Is  commissioned  to  negotiate  treaties  with  the  Sioux  and  Cheyenne 

Indians 341-343 

Is  commissioned  again 343 

Elected  president  of  the  St.  Paul  Gas  Light  Company 343 

Elected  president  of  the  Minnesota  Mutual   Life  Insurance  Com- 
pany    343 

Elected  president  of  the  St.  Paul  City  Bank 343 

Elected  president  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 343 

Re-elected  president  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 343 

Resignation  of  the  presidency  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  by 343 

Governor  Marshall  upon  the  resignation  of 344 

Resolutions  upon  the  resignation  of. 344 

Appointed  jiresident  of  the  board  of  regents  of  the  State  University  345 

Resists  repudiation  of  the  state  railroad  bonds  in  1870 349 

Fulminates  against  repudiation 351 

Thunders  against  repudiation 352 

Appeals  to  the  pulpit  against  repudiation 352,  353 

Cries  from  the  market  place  against  repudiation 354 

Is  elected  to  the  legislature,   October,  1869,  to  denounce  repudia- 
tion   354 

Denounces  repudiation  in  the  house  of  representatives,  February  8, 

1871 354,  355 

Seventeen  presidents,   New  York  banks,  address  congratulations 

and  thanks  to,  for  denouncing  repudiation 355 

Prominent  business  firms  salute,  for  his  denunciation 355 

Imperishable  example  of 364 

Retirement  of,  in  1871,  from  political  life 364 

The  first  citizen  of  Minnesota 365 

Appointed  chairman  of  commissioners  to  select  a  city  park 365 

Elected  director  First  National  Bank 365 

Appointed  president  State  Normal  School  Board 365 

Appointed  by  President  U.  S.  Grant  as  one  of  several  commission- 
ers to  supervise  the  whole  Indian  department 365 

Appointed  by  Governor  Davis  as  chairman  of  Relief  Committee  dur- 
ing the  locust  plague 366 

Elected  fellow  of  American  Geographical  Society 366 

Nominated  for  Congress,  1878 366 

His   resignation  of  the  presidency  of  the  board  of  regents  State 

University  not  accepted 366,  367 

Elected  president  Oakland  Cemetery  Association 367 


590  INDEX. 

Page. 
Sibley,  Henry  Hastings — Confhiued. 

Presides  at  thirtieth  anniversary  Minnesota  State  Historical  So- 
ciety   367 

Elected  chairman  Democratic  State  Convention,  1883 367 

Presides  at  the  bi-centennial  of  the  discovery  of  the  Falls  of  St. 

Anthony  by  Hennepin 368 

Presides  at  inaugural  banquet  of  Governor  Hubbard 368 

Is  honored  by  a  semi-centennial  banquet  commemorating  his  ad- 
vent to  Minnesota 368 

Resum(^of  the  life  and  deeds  of. 382,  383 

Intellectual  character  of. 384 

Character  of,  as  a  statesman 384,  385 

Character  of,  as  an  orator 386-389 

Character  of,  as  a  debater 389,  390 

Moral  attributes  of 390-392 

Religious  element  in ....392-395 

Literary  merit  of 395-397 

Power  of  description 397-399 

A  model  in  epistolary  correspondence 399-401 

Poetical  propensity  of. 401-404 

Tributes  by,  to  the  deceased 404-406 

Love  of  the  romantic  and  beautiful,  in 407-410 

Love  of  the  humorous,  in 411,  412 

Large-hearted  benevolence  of. 412-417 

Closing  words  by  the  author,  in  reference  to 428-431 

Sioux,  .'the  Indians  and  warriors,  their  numbers  and  strength 

65-67,  304,  307-309,  312,  313,  note,  316 
"Sioux  Crossing,"  the,  sometimes  called  "Sibley  Crossing".. 31 4,  note,  425 

Sioux,  the,  removed  from  Minnesota  to  Crow  Creek  Reservation 292 

Sissitonwans  (Village  of  the  Marsh) 66 

"Sister  Mary"  and  "Indian  John" 29 

Sitting  Bull,  Sioux  Indian  chief,  submits,  in  despair  and  contempt,  to 

the  treaty  of  1889 329 

"Skeddadle,"  a  classic  word 272,  note 

Slavery,  African,  and  the  territories 96-99 

Mr.  Sibley's  attitude  toward 117,  118,  123,  124,  243 

Slaymaker,  George  Duflleld 427 

Mrs.  G.  D.  (Clara  Steele) 427 

Catherine 427 

Snelliug,  Fort  — 

First  sight  of  by  H.  H.Sibley 55 

Its  importance  to  all 56 

Mrs.  General  Steele  (widow)  and  Mi.ss  Sarah  Jane,  come  to 86 

If.  H.  Sililey  assiduous  in  his  attentions  at  the 86 

Stiirving  Wahpetons  saved  by  kindness  from  tiie 83 

Rev.  Ezekiel  Gear,  chaplain  at  the 86 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Franklin  Steele  come  to  the 85 

First  Presbyterian  church  formed  at  the 63 

OMkt  nifiition  of 131,  254,  381 


INDEX.  591 

Page. 

Spencer,  clerk  of  commissary 304 

"  Split-stake  "  set  up  at   Birch  Coolie 262 

Sproat,  Colonel  Ebeiiezer  — 

Marries  Catherine  Whipple 35 

Sarah   Whipple,   wile  of  Judge  Solomon,    and   mother  of   Henry 

Hastings  Sibley 341 

Maternal  grandfather  of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley 38 

Kecord  of,  during  the  Revolution 39 

Relation  to  ordinance  of  1787 39,  40 

Builder  of  a  second  "  Mayflower  " 40 

Arrives  at  mouth  of  Muskingum  river,  Ohio 40 

His  majestic  stature 40,  41 

His  sobriquet,  '"  Buckeye  " 40 

Portrait  painted  by  Kosciusko 43 

Squatter  Sovereignty  — 

Relation  of,  to  pre-emption  of  unsurveyed  lands 168,  169,  172,  179 

Relation  of,  to  the  "Higher Law" 168,  169 

Squaw,  the  young 60,  61 

Stafl',  the  military,  of  General  Sibley 304 

Stanton,  Hon.  E.,  war  secretary 338 

Tribute  to  General  Sibley ; 321 

State,  The  — 

Is  a  divine  institute 361 

An  atheistic  impossible 361 

Aristotle,  in  reference  to 361 

Is  a  public  person 362 

Must  have  a  conscience 362 

Cicero,  quoted,  as  to  the  law  of. 362 

Primary  ground  of 362 

Final  cause,  or  design  of 363 

Ten  Commandments  a  part  of  the  law  of '. 363 

Laws  of,  apart  from  morality,  are  vain 363 

Horace,  quoted,  as  to  laws  of 363 

Brutal  ethics  of. 296,  322,  362,  363 

Stephens,  Hon.  Mr.,  of  Georgia  — 

Assails  the  rights  of  delegates 148 

Is  replied  to  by  Mr.  Sibley 149 

Stevens,  Hon.  Mr.,  of  Pennsylvania  — 

Assails  Mr.  Sibley's  argument  in  behalf  of  the  pioneer 168 

Replied  to  by  Mr.  Sibley 168 

Encounter  with  Mr.  Sibley,  as  to  the  "Higher  Law" 168,  169 

Steele  — 

General  James,  fatherof  Mrs.  H.  H.Sibley 86-88 

Mrs.  General  James  Steele 87 

Elizabeth .' 87 

William  H 87 

James 87 

John,  Dr 87 


592  INDEX. 

Page. 

Steele  —  Continued. 

Mary  H , 87 

Franklin,  Hon 68,  87 

Rachel  E 87 

Abbie  Ann 87 

Sarah  Jane 87 

Captain  William,  the 87 

Grandfather  of  Mrs.  H.  H.  Sibley 87 

Mrs.  Captain  William 87 

Archibald,  Colonel 87 

William,  General 87 

John,  General 87 

James,  General 87 

Eachel 87 

Ann 87 

Mr.  Charles 427 

Mrs.  Charles  (Fanny  Dawson) 427 

Charles 427 

Stony  Lake,  battle  of. 311,  312 

Circling  of  the  Indians  at  the 312 

St.  Peter,  scene  in  at  time  of  the  massacre 257 

St.  Paul,  home  of  H.  H.  Sibley  in '. 420-424 

Stuart,  Robert,  of  Mackinac  — 

Character  of. 49 

Agent  of  fur  company 49 

H.  H.  Sibley  reports  to 49 

Elder,  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Detroit 49 

H.  H.  Sibley  received  into  the  family  of 49 

Dispatches  H.  H.  Sibley  to  transact  oflBcial  business  with  Governor 
Porter,  at  Detroit 50 

Sully,  Major  General  Alfred  — 

Co-operating  against  the  Sioux  Indians 303 

Moves  from  Sioux  City 303 

Hindered    from   preventing   the   crossing  of  the  Missouri  by  the 

Sioux 314,  315 

Subsequently  inflicts  severe  loss  upon  the  Indians 326,  327 

Sumner,  Hon.  Charles,  Massachusetts — 

Parallel  between  the  advocacy  by,  for  the  black  man,  and  the  ad- 
vocacy, by  Sibley,  for  the  red  man 150 

Magnanimous  conduct  of,  toward  General  Sibley 335,  336 

Sunday  — 

Kept  by  Mr.  Sibley 322,  323 

Til u rH(liiy  kept  for 78 

Sutton,  MasHachusetts  — 

Origin  and  town.ship  of 21 

Original  proprietors  of.  21 

D(!ed  of  the  townsliip  of. 21 

Periods  of 21 


INDEX.  593 

Paob. 
Sutton,  Massachusetts  —  Continued. 

Purgatory,  cavern  of 21 

The  meeting  house  in 22 

Tea-drinking  in 23 

New  church  building  in 22 

Pew  system  in 23 

The  Sibleys  in 23-25 

The  church  music  in 23 

Intermarriages  of  the  Sibleys  of 25,  26 

Various  rank  of  the  Sibleys  of. 25 

Puritanic  names  of  the  Sibleys  of 27 

Classic  names  of  the  Sibleys  of 28 

Curious  stories  about  the  Sibleys  of 28,  29 

T. 

Tache,  Archbishop 368 

Taliaferro,  Major  L 56,  57 

Ta-sau-ga,  Indian  chief 65 

Ta-wai-o  ta-doo-ta,  Indian  chief 65 

"  Le  Petit  Corbeau,"  "  the  Little  Crow."     {See  LittU  Crow.) 

Taylor,  President  Zachary 133 

Taylor,  Captain 311 

Tea-drinking  in  Sutton,  Massachusetts 22 

Tee-ye-to,  the  Soldier's  Lodge 252 

Teton,  the  young  Apollo-like.     His  exploit  in  evading  his  pursuers 313 

Territories  of  the  United  States;  history  of  their  acquisition  and  ad- 
mission, up  to  the  date  of  the  organization  of  the  Territory  of  Min- 
nesota  116-135 

Telegrams  to  General  Sibley 342 

Thanks  of  General  Sibley  to  his  officers  and  soldiers 317 

Theodosian  Code,  the;   the  Ten  Commandments,  and  Sermon  on  the 

Mount,  a  part  of 364 

Thomas,  Eight  Rev.  E.  S. ,  Bishop  of  Kansas,  letter  of,  to  General  Sib- 
ley   380 

Thompson,  Hon.  Mr.,  of  Indiana  — 

Chairman  of  Committee  on  Elections 112 

Reports  in  favor  of  admitting  Mr.  Sibley  to  a  seat  in  Congress,  as 

delegate  from  Wisconsin 112 

Thermometer,  range  of  during  the  expeditions  against  the  Sioux 

304,  305,  316 

Titonwans  (Village  of  the  Prairies) 66 

Traders,  Indian;  character  of  the  early 68,  69,  72 

Treaties  with  the  Indians 56,  100,  292,  328,  329,  note,  341,  343,  351 

Trefan,  F 372 

Tribunal  of  the  Indian  chase;  Mr.  Sibley's  experience  of  its  jurisdic- 
tion  75,  76,  77 


594  INDEX. 

XJ. 

Page. 
Ulm,  New — 

Defense  of,  by  Hon.  Charles  E.  Flandrau 253 

Battle  of 254 

Retreat  from,  to  Mankato 254,  255 

Assault  at,  upon  the  Indian  prisoners  of  war 280 

Note  upon  New  Ulm See  end  of  Appendix 

Character  of  some  of  the  early  settlers  of See  end  of  Appendix 

United  States  of  America — 

Only  two  of  all  the,  have  their  boundaries  running  east  and  west 

across  the  Mississippi 118 

Influence  of  the,  upon  Europe 94-96 

Wonderful  expansion  of,  in  1848,  1849 96,  97 

Great  questions  agitating  the,  when  Mr.  Sibley  began  his  congres- 
sional career  {See  E  Fluriius  Umcm) 97,  105 

Condition  of,  at  the  time  of  Sioux  massacre 252 

University  of  Minnesota  — 

Two  townships  of  land  for  the 170 

Governor  Sibley  recommends  that  the,  be  put  in  operation 240 

General  Sibley,  president  of  the  regents  of  the 345 

Ovation  (1889)  at  the,  to  General  Sibley 379,  380 

Resolution  by  the  regents  of  the,  in  recognition  of  the  honor  con- 
ferred by  Princeton  College  upon  General  Sibley 378 

Venable,  Hon.  Mr.,  of  Virginia,  supports  Mr.  Sibley  in  defense  of  the 

Indians 199 

Veto  of  the  Minnesota  &  Northwestern  Railroad  charter,  by  Governor 

Gorman 217 

Virginia,  the  Old  Dominion 117 

Boundaries  of 117 

Origin  of,  by  royal  charters 117 

Extent  of  the  original  jurisdiction 117 

Cedes  the  Northwest  Territory  to  the  United  States,  forever 117 

Stipulates  its  freedom  from  slavery 117 

Virgin  feast,  the 67 

Virtues,  the  Indian 67 

Vote  of  the  State  of  Minnesota,  for  adoption  of  its  constitution 231 

For  amendment  of,  April  15,  1858 231 

For  repudiation 347 

Wacoota,  Indian  chief. 65 

Wah-mun-di-doo-ta,  Indian  chief 65 

Wapashaw,  Indian  chief. 65 

Wahpekutjus  (Leaf  Shooters) 65 

Walipctonwaiis  (Vilhigc  in  the  Leaves) 66 


INDEX.  595 

Page, 
Wa-ze-o-man-zee  (Walker-in-the-Piues),  the  ludian   name  of  General 

Sibley 79,  283 

War,  Our  Civil- 
Date  of  commencement  of. 246 

Causes  of. 97,  98,  175,  176,  241,  243,  245,  246 

The  Sioux 248-333 

Date  of  commencement  of. 248 

Causes  of. 251 

Loyalty  of  H.  H.  Sibley  during; 246 

Washburns,  the,  at  the  bi-centennial 368 

Weiser,  Surgeon,  treacherously  shot 308 

Weed,  W 372 

Welch,  Major  A.  E.,  Third  regiment 261,  271 

Whipple,  Commodore  A 2,  35,  36 

Ctrtherine 35 

Marries  Sarah  Hopkins,  sister  of  Stephen  Hopkins 35 

Maternal  great-grandfather  of  Henry  Hastings  Sibley 35 

Fires  the  first  gun  on  the  ocean  against  the  British 37 

First  to  unfurl  the  American  flag  in  the  Thames 37 

His  achievements  as  a  naval  commander 36,  37 

His  laconic  reply  to  Sir  James  Wallace,  admiral  of  his  Majesty's 

fleet 37 

Epitaph  on  the.tombstone  of. 38 

Whipple,  Captain,  artillery 309,  311 

Whipple,  Bishop — 

Letter  of,  to  General  Sibley 294 

Preaches  in  camp 323 

Meets  Sibley's  returning  expedition 326 

Whitney,  Captain,  Sixth  regiment,  arrests  the  Indians  at  Yellow  Medi- 
cine    279 

At  the  execution  at  Mankato 291 

Williamson,  Rev.  T.  S 63,  289 

Wilmot  proviso  resisted 123,  124 

Wilson,  Hon.  James  A.,  of  New  Hampshire,  presents  to  the  house  the 
ofiicial  certificate  of  H.  H.  Sibley,  delegate  from  the  residuum  of 

Wisconsin 104,  105 

Wilson,  Hon.  Eugene  M.,  of  Hennepin  — 

Words  of,  in  the  Democratic  State  Convention  of  1 88 1 360 

Wilson,  Captain  Eugene  M 272,  311 

Winthrop,  John 16 

Winthrop  Fleet,  1629-1630 2,  3,  11,  14 

Eesiilt  of  a  great  movement 15 

Contained  the  germ  of  American  independence 15 

John  Sibley  of  Salem  came  over  in 15 

Ministers  in 16 

Character  of. 15 

Eminent  men  in 15 

Number  of  immigrants  in 16 

Lands  at  Salem,  Massachusetts 17 


596  INDEX. 

Page. 

Winthrop,  Hon.  Robert  C 125-128,  134,  140 

Winaebagoes 256,  259,  263,  292 

"Wrigbt  county  war 239 

Wisconsin  Territory 104-106,  109,  110 

The  residuum  of,  the  occasion  of  H.  H.  Sibley's  appearance  in 

Congress 119 

Organic  rights  of  the  residuum  of,  asserted  by  H.  H.  Sibley 

109-111,  119 

Extent  of  the  residuum  of. 120 

Population  of  the  residuum 120 

H.  H.  Sibley,  delegate  from  the  residuum  of. 104,  105 

Wisconsin   admitted  as   a  state,  a  residuum  of  her  territory  not  in- 
cluded   120 

Witchcraft — 

In  Europe 29 

In  New  England 31 

In  Salem,  Massachusetts 29 

Eecognized  in  the  Bible 30 

Executions  for 30 

Wood  Lake,  battle  of. 271,  272 

Great  importance  of  the 273,  281,  282 

Y. 

Yanktonnais.    (See  Ihanktowana  and  Ihanktowans) 66 

Yellow  Medicine  Agency 251 

Yellow  Medicine  river 297 

Young,  Mr.  Elbert  A 427 

Mrs.  E.  A.  (Sarah  A.  Sibley) 427 

Henry  Sibley 427 

Cornelia 427 

Elbert  A 427 


ERRATA. 


For  Beever,  read  Beaver. 

Page  41,  line  25th,  for  "Menica"  read  Monica. 
Page  368,  line  11th,  after  "Cadwallader,  "  read  Washburn. 
Page  384,  line  39th,  for  "realtion"  read  relation. 
Page  426,  line  4th,  for  "Medicine  Bottom"  read  "Medi- 
cine Bottle." 


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